Apply suggestions from code review

Co-authored-by: omri-maya <omri@nanoco.ai>

.github/workflows/label-pr.yml

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       pull-requests: write
+      issues: write # createLabel — auto-provisions the core-team label
     steps:
       - uses: actions/github-script@v7
         with:
@@ -30,6 +31,24 @@ jobs:
 
             if (body.includes('contributing-guide: v1')) labels.push('follows-guidelines');
 
+            // Lowercase GitHub logins; keep in sync with the core team roster.
+            const CORE_TEAM = ['gavrielc', 'koshkoshinsk', 'glifocat', 'gabi-simons', 'omri-maya', 'amit-shafnir', 'moshe-nanoco'];
+            const author = context.payload.pull_request.user.login.toLowerCase();
+            if (CORE_TEAM.includes(author)) {
+              labels.push('core-team');
+              try {
+                await github.rest.issues.createLabel({
+                  owner: context.repo.owner,
+                  repo: context.repo.repo,
+                  name: 'core-team',
+                  color: '1D76DB',
+                  description: 'PR opened by a core team member',
+                });
+              } catch (e) {
+                if (e.status !== 422) throw e; // 422: label already exists
+              }
+            }
+
             if (labels.length > 0) {
               await github.rest.issues.addLabels({
                 owner: context.repo.owner,

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ All notable changes to NanoClaw will be documented in this file.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+- **Pre-task script failures back their series off instead of spinning.** A `--script` that errors lands the occurrence as a failed run (`script-skip:error` ack → `failed` status); recurrence reads the series' trailing failed streak and re-arms at `max(cron next, now + 2·2^(n−1) min, cap 60)`; after 8 consecutive failures the series is auto-paused with a host-written note in its run log (`ncl tasks resume` revives it). A deliberate `wakeAgent:false` gate is a normal run and never backs off. Also fixed: an explicitly-addressed `<message to>` in a task fire's final text now delivers as a deliberate send (previously suppressed as a turn-reply echo → zero delivery when the agent skipped the MCP tool); identical echoes of an MCP send are dropped in the runner, where the duplication originates.
+- [BREAKING] **Scheduled tasks moved from MCP tools to `ncl tasks`.** The six scheduling MCP tools are no longer exposed to agent containers; agents and operators manage tasks with `ncl tasks list/get/create/update/cancel/pause/resume/delete`. New tasks run from a per-agent-group system session rather than waking the chat session that created them, and task writes are not approval-gated inside the owning group. **Migration:** [docs/ncl-tasks-migration.md](docs/ncl-tasks-migration.md).
 - **Optional per-container resource caps.** `CONTAINER_CPU_LIMIT` and `CONTAINER_MEMORY_LIMIT` pass through to `docker run` as `--cpus` / `--memory` (`container-runner.ts`). Both empty by default — no flag added, spawn args byte-identical to today — so existing installs are unaffected. Set them to cap an agent container's CPU/memory so one agent can't monopolize the host (e.g. `CONTAINER_CPU_LIMIT=2`, `CONTAINER_MEMORY_LIMIT=8g`). Swap is intentionally not managed here: `--memory` is a hard cap on a swapless host.
 - [BREAKING] **Chat SDK pinned to `4.29.0` (was `4.26.0` via `^4.24.0`).** `chat` and the `@chat-adapter/*` channel adapters are version-locked — the adapter's `ChatInstance` must match the bridge's, so a mismatched pair fails to typecheck at `createChatSdkBridge(...)`. `chat` is therefore pinned exactly, and the channel-adapter install pins move with it — the `/add-<channel>` SKILL.md steps and `setup/*.sh` scripts on `main`, plus the adapter code on the `channels` branch. Core installs with no channel (only `cli`) are unaffected. **Migration:** if any channel is installed (Slack, Discord, Telegram, Teams, …), re-run its `/add-<channel>` skill to pull the matching `4.29.0` adapter.
 - **Budget/billing-exhausted LLM turns now reach the user instead of being silently dropped.** When a turn ends in a non-retryable provider error (e.g. an Anthropic `403 billing_error`) with no `<message>` wrapping, the agent-runner delivers the provider's notice to the originating channel and stops re-nudging the failing gateway. `providers/claude.ts` now surfaces the SDK's `is_error` flag (and the error subtype's `errors[]` text); `poll-loop.ts` delivers that text and skips the re-wrap retry. Fixes the case where a spend-limit notice produced silence plus a turn-after-turn retry loop.

CLAUDE.md

@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ ncl help
 | members | list, add, remove | Unprivileged access gate for an agent group |
 | destinations | list, add, remove | Where an agent group can send messages |
 | sessions | list, get | Active sessions (read-only) |
+| tasks | list, get, create, update, cancel, pause, resume, delete, run, append-log | Scheduled tasks for an agent group |
 | user-dms | list | Cold-DM cache (read-only) |
 | dropped-messages | list | Messages from unregistered senders (read-only) |
 | approvals | list, get | Pending approval requests (read-only) |
@@ -137,7 +138,7 @@ Per-agent-group container runtime config (provider, model, packages, MCP servers
 | Value | Behavior |
 |-------|----------|
 | `disabled` | Agent never learns about ncl (instructions excluded from CLAUDE.md). Host dispatch rejects any `cli_request`. |
-| `group` (default) | Agent can access `groups`, `sessions`, `destinations`, `members` only, scoped to its own agent group. `--id` and group args are auto-filled. Cross-group access rejected. `cli_scope` changes blocked. |
+| `group` (default) | Agent can access `groups`, `sessions`, `destinations`, `members`, `tasks` only, scoped to its own agent group. `--id` and group args are auto-filled. Cross-group access rejected. `cli_scope` changes blocked. |
 | `global` | Unrestricted. Set automatically for owner agent groups via `init-first-agent`. |
 
 Key files: `src/db/container-configs.ts`, `src/container-config.ts`, `src/cli/dispatch.ts` (scope enforcement), `src/claude-md-compose.ts` (instructions exclusion).

container/agent-runner/src/db/messages-in.ts

@@ -120,6 +120,24 @@ export function markCompleted(ids: string[]): void {
   })();
 }
 
+/**
+ * Ack task messages whose pre-task script gated the run. The reason decides
+ * the ack: `gated` (wakeAgent=false) is the monitor working as designed → a
+ * plain `completed`; `error` (broken script) → `script-skip:error`, which the
+ * host's ack sync records as a FAILED run so recurrence can read the trailing
+ * failed streak off the occurrence rows and back the series off.
+ */
+export function markScriptSkipped(skips: Array<{ id: string; reason: string }>): void {
+  if (skips.length === 0) return;
+  const db = getOutboundDb();
+  const stmt = db.prepare(
+    "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO processing_ack (message_id, status, status_changed) VALUES (?, ?, datetime('now'))",
+  );
+  db.transaction(() => {
+    for (const s of skips) stmt.run(s.id, s.reason === 'error' ? 'script-skip:error' : 'completed');
+  })();
+}
+
 /** Mark a single message as failed — writes to processing_ack in outbound.db. */
 export function markFailed(id: string): void {
   getOutboundDb()

container/agent-runner/src/db/messages-out.ts

@@ -141,3 +141,22 @@ export function getUndeliveredMessages(): MessageOutRow[] {
     )
     .all() as MessageOutRow[];
 }
+
+/**
+ * True if a deliberate send with this exact destination + text already exists
+ * (an MCP send_message row from the current turn). Used by the task-fire
+ * final-text dispatcher to drop the turn-final <message> echo of a send the
+ * agent already made — the dedup happens where the duplication originates.
+ */
+export function hasIdenticalSend(platformId: string, channelType: string, text: string): boolean {
+  const row = getOutboundDb()
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT 1 FROM messages_out
+        WHERE platform_id = $platform_id AND channel_type = $channel_type
+          AND (in_reply_to IS NULL OR in_reply_to = '')
+          AND json_extract(content, '$.text') = $text
+        LIMIT 1`,
+    )
+    .get({ $platform_id: platformId, $channel_type: channelType, $text: text });
+  return row != null;
+}

container/agent-runner/src/destinations.ts

@@ -105,13 +105,11 @@ function buildDestinationsSection(): string {
   const lines = ['## Sending messages', ''];
   if (all.length === 1) {
     const d = all[0];
-    const label = d.displayName && d.displayName !== d.name ? ` (${d.displayName})` : '';
-    lines.push(`Your destination is \`${d.name}\`${label}.`);
+    lines.push(`Your destination is \`${d.name}\`${destinationLabel(d)}.`);
   } else {
     lines.push('You can send messages to the following destinations:', '');
     for (const d of all) {
-      const label = d.displayName && d.displayName !== d.name ? ` (${d.displayName})` : '';
-      lines.push(`- \`${d.name}\`${label}`);
+      lines.push(`- \`${d.name}\`${destinationLabel(d)}`);
     }
   }
   lines.push('');
@@ -128,3 +126,10 @@ function buildDestinationsSection(): string {
   );
   return lines.join('\n');
 }
+
+function destinationLabel(d: DestinationEntry): string {
+  const parts: string[] = [];
+  if (d.channelType) parts.push(d.channelType);
+  if (d.displayName && d.displayName !== d.name) parts.push(d.displayName);
+  return parts.length > 0 ? ` (${parts.join(' · ')})` : '';
+}

container/agent-runner/src/formatter.ts

@@ -98,6 +98,11 @@ export interface RoutingContext {
   channelType: string | null;
   threadId: string | null;
   inReplyTo: string | null;
+  /** Batch is a task fire — explicit `<message to>` sends must NOT inherit
+   *  inReplyTo (the series id), or the host's task-fire suppression drops
+   *  them as turn-final echoes: zero delivery. Deliberate sends are
+   *  in_reply_to-null, same as the out-of-process MCP send_message path. */
+  taskFire: boolean;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -111,6 +116,7 @@ export function extractRouting(messages: MessageInRow[]): RoutingContext {
     channelType: first?.channel_type ?? null,
     threadId: first?.thread_id ?? null,
     inReplyTo: first?.id ?? null,
+    taskFire: messages.length > 0 && messages.every((m) => m.kind === 'task'),
   };
 }
 

container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/cli.instructions.md

@@ -18,12 +18,13 @@ Your CLI access may be scoped. Run `ncl help` to see which resources are availab
 
 Run `ncl help` for the full list. Common resources:
 
-| Resource | Verbs | What it is |
-|----------|-------|------------|
-| groups | list, get, create, update, delete, restart, config get/update, config add-mcp-server/remove-mcp-server, config add-package/remove-package | Agent groups (workspace, personality, container config) |
-| sessions | list, get | Active sessions (read-only) |
-| destinations | list, add, remove | Where an agent group can send messages |
-| members | list, add, remove | Unprivileged access gate for an agent group |
+| Resource     | Verbs                                                                                                                                     | What it is                                              |
+| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
+| groups       | list, get, create, update, delete, restart, config get/update, config add-mcp-server/remove-mcp-server, config add-package/remove-package | Agent groups (workspace, personality, container config) |
+| sessions     | list, get                                                                                                                                 | Active sessions (read-only)                             |
+| destinations | list, add, remove                                                                                                                         | Where an agent group can send messages                  |
+| members      | list, add, remove                                                                                                                         | Unprivileged access gate for an agent group             |
+| tasks        | list, get, create, update, cancel, pause, resume, delete, append-log                                                                      | Scheduled tasks for your agent group                    |
 
 Additional resources (available under `global` scope only): messaging-groups, wirings, users, roles, user-dms, dropped-messages, approvals.
 
@@ -33,11 +34,12 @@ Additional resources (available under `global` scope only): messaging-groups, wi
 - **Restarting your container** — `ncl groups restart` (with optional `--rebuild` and `--message`).
 - **Checking who's in your group** — `ncl members list`.
 - **Seeing your destinations** — `ncl destinations list`.
+- **Scheduling work** — `ncl tasks create`, then `ncl tasks list/get/update/cancel/pause/resume/delete`; `ncl tasks run <id>` fires one extra run now (testing) without changing the schedule. At the end of each task run, `ncl tasks append-log --msg "…"` to record what happened (host-timestamped, not a message).
 - **Answering questions about the system** — query `ncl` rather than guessing.
 
 ### Access rules
 
-Read commands (list, get) are open. Write commands (create, update, delete, restart, config update, add, remove) require admin approval — the request is held until an admin approves it.
+Read commands (list, get) are open. Most write commands (create, update, delete, restart, config update, add, remove) require admin approval — the request is held until an admin approves it. `ncl tasks` is the exception: an agent can manage its own group tasks without approval.
 
 ### Approval flow
 
@@ -61,6 +63,13 @@ ncl groups config get
 ncl sessions list
 ncl destinations list
 ncl members list
+ncl tasks list
+# Always pass a short descriptive --name so the task id is readable (e.g. daily-briefing-a25c, not a long uuid).
+# For a recurring task, --recurrence alone sets the schedule (first run derived from it); add --process-after only for one-shots.
+ncl tasks create --name "daily briefing" --prompt "Send the daily briefing" --recurrence "0 9 * * *"
+# At the END of every task run, record one line of history. The host stamps the UTC time — you supply only the summary.
+# This is a LOG ENTRY, not a message: it sends nothing to anyone. Inside a task fire --id is auto-derived from your session.
+ncl tasks append-log --msg "posted the daily digest to slack; one feed returned 403, skipped"
 
 # Write commands (approval required)
 ncl groups restart

container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/index.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
  * at module scope, and append the import here. No central list.
  */
 import './core.js';
-import './scheduling.js';
 import './interactive.js';
 import './agents.js';
 import './self-mod.js';

container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/scheduling.instructions.md

@@ -1,40 +1,25 @@
-## Task scheduling (`schedule_task`)
+## Task scheduling (`ncl tasks`)
 
-For any recurring task, use `schedule_task`. This is the scheduling path — tasks persist across sessions and restarts, and support the pre-task `script` hook described below.
+Use `ncl tasks` for one-shot and recurring tasks. A task runs in this agent group's system session, not in the current chat session, so when it fires you must choose a destination explicitly with `<message to="name">...</message>` or `send_message({ to: "name", ... })`.
 
-To inspect or change existing tasks, use `list_tasks` (returns one row per series with the stable id) and `update_task` / `cancel_task` / `pause_task` / `resume_task`. Prefer `update_task` over cancel + reschedule.
+Pass `--name "<short label>"` on create to get a readable task id (e.g. `--name "sales briefing"` → `sales-briefing-a25c`); without it ids are `t-<hex>`.
 
-Frequent recurring scheduled tasks — more than a few times a day — consume API credits and can risk account restrictions. You can add a `script` that runs first, and you will only be called when the check passes.
-
-### How it works
-
-1. Provide a bash `script` alongside the `prompt` when scheduling
-2. When the task fires, the script runs first
-3. Script returns: `{ "wakeAgent": true/false, "data": {...} }`
-4. If `wakeAgent: false` — nothing happens, task waits for next run
-5. If `wakeAgent: true` — claude receives the script's data + prompt and handles
-
-### Always test your script first
-
-Before scheduling, run the script directly to verify it works:
+Common commands:
 
 ```bash
-bash -c 'node --input-type=module -e "
-  const r = await fetch(\"https://api.github.com/repos/owner/repo/pulls?state=open\");
-  const prs = await r.json();
-  console.log(JSON.stringify({ wakeAgent: prs.length > 0, data: prs.slice(0, 5) }));
-"'
+ncl tasks create --name "ping" --prompt "Remind me to call Dana" --process-after "tomorrow 18:00"
+ncl tasks list
+ncl tasks get ping-a25c        # includes run count, failures, and recent run-log lines
+ncl tasks run ping-a25c         # fire once now without changing the schedule (testing)
+ncl tasks update ping-a25c --prompt "New instructions"
+ncl tasks pause ping-a25c
+ncl tasks resume ping-a25c
+ncl tasks cancel ping-a25c      # or --all as a kill switch
+ncl tasks delete ping-a25c
 ```
 
-### When NOT to use scripts
+Use good judgement on whether it's appropriate to check in with the user about the task prompt before task creation, and if so, whether to share verbatim or a description of it.
 
-If a task requires your judgment every time (daily briefings, reminders, reports), skip the script — just use a regular prompt. Do not attempt to do things like sentiment analysis or advanced nlp in scripts.
+`--process-after` accepts UTC timestamps or naive local timestamps interpreted in the instance timezone (shown in the `<context timezone="..."/>` header).
 
-### Frequent task guidance
-
-If a user wants a task to run more than a few times a day and a script can't be used:
-
-- Explain that each time the task fires it uses API credits and risks rate limits
-- Suggest adjusting the task requirements in a way that will allow you to use a script
-- If the user needs an LLM to evaluate data, suggest using an API key with direct Anthropic API calls inside the script
-- Help the user find the minimum viable frequency
+Run `ncl tasks create --help` for schedules, options, and pre-task gate scripts (checks that run before you wake).

container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/scheduling.ts

@@ -1,302 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Scheduling MCP tools: schedule_task, list_tasks, cancel_task, pause_task, resume_task.
- *
- * With the two-DB split, the container cannot write to inbound.db (host-owned).
- * Scheduling operations are sent as system actions via messages_out — the host
- * reads them during delivery and applies the changes to inbound.db.
- */
-import { getInboundDb } from '../db/connection.js';
-import { writeMessageOut } from '../db/messages-out.js';
-import { getSessionRouting } from '../db/session-routing.js';
-import { TIMEZONE, parseZonedToUtc } from '../timezone.js';
-import { registerTools } from './server.js';
-import type { McpToolDefinition } from './types.js';
-
-function log(msg: string): void {
-  console.error(`[mcp-tools] ${msg}`);
-}
-
-function generateId(): string {
-  return `task-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`;
-}
-
-function routing() {
-  return getSessionRouting();
-}
-
-function ok(text: string) {
-  return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text }] };
-}
-
-function err(text: string) {
-  return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text: `Error: ${text}` }], isError: true };
-}
-
-export const scheduleTask: McpToolDefinition = {
-  tool: {
-    name: 'schedule_task',
-    description:
-      `Schedule a one-shot or recurring task. The user's timezone is declared in the <context timezone="..."/> header of your prompt — interpret the user's "9pm" etc. in that zone. Cron expressions are interpreted in the user's timezone too.`,
-    inputSchema: {
-      type: 'object' as const,
-      properties: {
-        prompt: { type: 'string', description: 'Task instructions/prompt' },
-        processAfter: {
-          type: 'string',
-          description:
-            `ISO 8601 timestamp for the first run. Accepts either UTC (ending in "Z" or "+00:00") or a naive local timestamp (no offset) which is interpreted in the user's timezone (e.g. "2026-01-15T21:00:00" = 9pm user-local). Prefer naive local.`,
-        },
-        recurrence: {
-          type: 'string',
-          description:
-            'Cron expression for recurring tasks (e.g., "0 9 * * 1-5" = weekdays at 9am user-local). Evaluated in the user\'s timezone.',
-        },
-        script: { type: 'string', description: 'Optional pre-agent script to run before processing' },
-      },
-      required: ['prompt', 'processAfter'],
-    },
-  },
-  async handler(args) {
-    const prompt = args.prompt as string;
-    const processAfterIn = args.processAfter as string;
-    if (!prompt || !processAfterIn) return err('prompt and processAfter are required');
-
-    let processAfter: string;
-    try {
-      const d = parseZonedToUtc(processAfterIn, TIMEZONE);
-      if (Number.isNaN(d.getTime())) return err(`invalid processAfter: ${processAfterIn}`);
-      processAfter = d.toISOString();
-    } catch {
-      return err(`invalid processAfter: ${processAfterIn}`);
-    }
-
-    const id = generateId();
-    const r = routing();
-    const recurrence = (args.recurrence as string) || null;
-    const script = (args.script as string) || null;
-
-    // Write as a system action — host will insert into inbound.db
-    writeMessageOut({
-      id,
-      kind: 'system',
-      platform_id: r.platform_id,
-      channel_type: r.channel_type,
-      thread_id: r.thread_id,
-      content: JSON.stringify({
-        action: 'schedule_task',
-        taskId: id,
-        prompt,
-        script,
-        processAfter,
-        recurrence,
-        platformId: r.platform_id,
-        channelType: r.channel_type,
-        threadId: r.thread_id,
-      }),
-    });
-
-    log(`schedule_task: ${id} at ${processAfter}${recurrence ? ` (recurring: ${recurrence})` : ''}`);
-    return ok(`Task scheduled (id: ${id}, runs at: ${processAfter}${recurrence ? `, recurrence: ${recurrence}` : ''})`);
-  },
-};
-
-export const listTasks: McpToolDefinition = {
-  tool: {
-    name: 'list_tasks',
-    description:
-      'List scheduled tasks. Returns one row per series — the live (pending or paused) occurrence. The id shown is the series id, which is what update_task / cancel_task / pause_task / resume_task expect.',
-    inputSchema: {
-      type: 'object' as const,
-      properties: {
-        status: { type: 'string', description: 'Filter by status: pending or paused (default: both)' },
-      },
-    },
-  },
-  async handler(args) {
-    const status = args.status as string | undefined;
-    const db = getInboundDb();
-    // One row per series — the live (pending or paused) occurrence. Recurring
-    // tasks accumulate one completed row per firing plus one live follow-up;
-    // exposing the whole pile to the agent is noisy and confuses task identity
-    // ("which id do I cancel?"). The series_id is the stable handle.
-    //
-    // SQLite quirk: when MAX(seq) appears in the SELECT list of a GROUP BY
-    // query, the bare columns take values from the row that contains that max
-    // — that's how we pick "the latest live row per series" in one pass.
-    let rows;
-    if (status) {
-      rows = db
-        .prepare(
-          `SELECT series_id AS id, status, process_after, recurrence, content, MAX(seq) AS _seq
-             FROM messages_in
-            WHERE kind = 'task' AND status = ?
-            GROUP BY series_id
-            ORDER BY process_after ASC`,
-        )
-        .all(status);
-    } else {
-      rows = db
-        .prepare(
-          `SELECT series_id AS id, status, process_after, recurrence, content, MAX(seq) AS _seq
-             FROM messages_in
-            WHERE kind = 'task' AND status IN ('pending', 'paused')
-            GROUP BY series_id
-            ORDER BY process_after ASC`,
-        )
-        .all();
-    }
-
-    if ((rows as unknown[]).length === 0) return ok('No tasks found.');
-
-    const lines = (rows as Array<{ id: string; status: string; process_after: string | null; recurrence: string | null; content: string }>).map((r) => {
-      const content = JSON.parse(r.content);
-      const prompt = (content.prompt as string || '').slice(0, 80);
-      return `- ${r.id} [${r.status}] at=${r.process_after || 'now'} ${r.recurrence ? `recur=${r.recurrence} ` : ''}→ ${prompt}`;
-    });
-
-    return ok(lines.join('\n'));
-  },
-};
-
-export const cancelTask: McpToolDefinition = {
-  tool: {
-    name: 'cancel_task',
-    description: 'Cancel a scheduled task.',
-    inputSchema: {
-      type: 'object' as const,
-      properties: {
-        taskId: { type: 'string', description: 'Task ID to cancel' },
-      },
-      required: ['taskId'],
-    },
-  },
-  async handler(args) {
-    const taskId = args.taskId as string;
-    if (!taskId) return err('taskId is required');
-
-    // Write as a system action — host will update inbound.db
-    writeMessageOut({
-      id: `sys-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`,
-      kind: 'system',
-      content: JSON.stringify({ action: 'cancel_task', taskId }),
-    });
-
-    log(`cancel_task: ${taskId}`);
-    return ok(`Task cancellation requested: ${taskId}`);
-  },
-};
-
-export const pauseTask: McpToolDefinition = {
-  tool: {
-    name: 'pause_task',
-    description: 'Pause a scheduled task. It will not run until resumed.',
-    inputSchema: {
-      type: 'object' as const,
-      properties: {
-        taskId: { type: 'string', description: 'Task ID to pause' },
-      },
-      required: ['taskId'],
-    },
-  },
-  async handler(args) {
-    const taskId = args.taskId as string;
-    if (!taskId) return err('taskId is required');
-
-    writeMessageOut({
-      id: `sys-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`,
-      kind: 'system',
-      content: JSON.stringify({ action: 'pause_task', taskId }),
-    });
-
-    log(`pause_task: ${taskId}`);
-    return ok(`Task pause requested: ${taskId}`);
-  },
-};
-
-export const resumeTask: McpToolDefinition = {
-  tool: {
-    name: 'resume_task',
-    description: 'Resume a paused task.',
-    inputSchema: {
-      type: 'object' as const,
-      properties: {
-        taskId: { type: 'string', description: 'Task ID to resume' },
-      },
-      required: ['taskId'],
-    },
-  },
-  async handler(args) {
-    const taskId = args.taskId as string;
-    if (!taskId) return err('taskId is required');
-
-    writeMessageOut({
-      id: `sys-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`,
-      kind: 'system',
-      content: JSON.stringify({ action: 'resume_task', taskId }),
-    });
-
-    log(`resume_task: ${taskId}`);
-    return ok(`Task resume requested: ${taskId}`);
-  },
-};
-
-export const updateTask: McpToolDefinition = {
-  tool: {
-    name: 'update_task',
-    description:
-      'Update a scheduled task. Pass the series id from list_tasks. Any field omitted is left unchanged. Use this instead of cancel + reschedule when adjusting an existing task.',
-    inputSchema: {
-      type: 'object' as const,
-      properties: {
-        taskId: { type: 'string', description: 'Series id of the task to update (as shown by list_tasks)' },
-        prompt: { type: 'string', description: 'New task prompt (optional)' },
-        recurrence: {
-          type: 'string',
-          description: 'New cron expression (optional). Pass empty string to clear and make the task one-shot.',
-        },
-        processAfter: {
-          type: 'string',
-          description:
-            `New ISO 8601 timestamp for the next run (optional). Accepts either UTC (ending in "Z" / "+00:00") or a naive local timestamp interpreted in the user's timezone.`,
-        },
-        script: {
-          type: 'string',
-          description: 'New pre-agent script (optional). Pass empty string to clear.',
-        },
-      },
-      required: ['taskId'],
-    },
-  },
-  async handler(args) {
-    const taskId = args.taskId as string;
-    if (!taskId) return err('taskId is required');
-
-    const update: Record<string, unknown> = { taskId };
-    if (typeof args.prompt === 'string') update.prompt = args.prompt;
-    if (typeof args.processAfter === 'string') {
-      try {
-        const d = parseZonedToUtc(args.processAfter, TIMEZONE);
-        if (Number.isNaN(d.getTime())) return err(`invalid processAfter: ${args.processAfter}`);
-        update.processAfter = d.toISOString();
-      } catch {
-        return err(`invalid processAfter: ${args.processAfter}`);
-      }
-    }
-    // Empty string clears recurrence/script; undefined leaves them as-is.
-    if (typeof args.recurrence === 'string') update.recurrence = args.recurrence === '' ? null : args.recurrence;
-    if (typeof args.script === 'string') update.script = args.script === '' ? null : args.script;
-
-    if (Object.keys(update).length === 1) return err('at least one field to update is required');
-
-    writeMessageOut({
-      id: `sys-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`,
-      kind: 'system',
-      content: JSON.stringify({ action: 'update_task', ...update }),
-    });
-
-    log(`update_task: ${taskId}`);
-    return ok(`Task update requested: ${taskId}`);
-  },
-};
-
-registerTools([scheduleTask, listTasks, updateTask, cancelTask, pauseTask, resumeTask]);

container/agent-runner/src/poll-loop.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { findByName, getAllDestinations, type DestinationEntry } from './destinations.js';
-import { getPendingMessages, markProcessing, markCompleted, type MessageInRow } from './db/messages-in.js';
-import { writeMessageOut } from './db/messages-out.js';
+import { getPendingMessages, markProcessing, markCompleted, markScriptSkipped, type MessageInRow } from './db/messages-in.js';
+import { hasIdenticalSend, writeMessageOut } from './db/messages-out.js';
 import { getInboundDb, touchHeartbeat, clearStaleProcessingAcks } from './db/connection.js';
 import {
   clearContinuation,
@@ -207,15 +207,15 @@ export async function runPollLoop(config: PollLoopConfig): Promise<void> {
     // Without the scheduling module, the marker block is empty, `keep`
     // falls back to `normalMessages`, and no gating happens.
     let keep: MessageInRow[] = normalMessages;
-    let skipped: string[] = [];
+    let skipped: Array<{ id: string; reason: string }> = [];
     // MODULE-HOOK:scheduling-pre-task:start
     const { applyPreTaskScripts } = await import('./scheduling/task-script.js');
     const preTask = await applyPreTaskScripts(normalMessages);
     keep = preTask.keep;
     skipped = preTask.skipped;
     if (skipped.length > 0) {
-      markCompleted(skipped);
-      log(`Pre-task script skipped ${skipped.length} task(s): ${skipped.join(', ')}`);
+      markScriptSkipped(skipped);
+      log(`Pre-task script skipped ${skipped.length} task(s): ${skipped.map((s) => s.id).join(', ')}`);
     }
     // MODULE-HOOK:scheduling-pre-task:end
 
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ export async function runPollLoop(config: PollLoopConfig): Promise<void> {
     });
 
     // Process the query while concurrently polling for new messages
-    const skippedSet = new Set(skipped);
+    const skippedSet = new Set(skipped.map((s) => s.id));
     const processingIds = ids.filter((id) => !commandIds.includes(id) && !skippedSet.has(id));
     // Publish the batch's in_reply_to so MCP tools (send_message, send_file)
     // can stamp it on outbound rows — needed for a2a return-path routing.
@@ -401,15 +401,15 @@ export async function processQuery(
         // its script gate and always wakes the agent, defeating the gate.
         // Mirrors the initial-batch hook above.
         let keep = newMessages;
-        let skipped: string[] = [];
+        let skipped: Array<{ id: string; reason: string }> = [];
         // MODULE-HOOK:scheduling-pre-task-followup:start
         const { applyPreTaskScripts } = await import('./scheduling/task-script.js');
         const preTask = await applyPreTaskScripts(newMessages);
         keep = preTask.keep;
         skipped = preTask.skipped;
         if (skipped.length > 0) {
-          markCompleted(skipped);
-          log(`Pre-task script skipped ${skipped.length} follow-up task(s): ${skipped.join(', ')}`);
+          markScriptSkipped(skipped);
+          log(`Pre-task script skipped ${skipped.length} follow-up task(s): ${skipped.map((s) => s.id).join(', ')}`);
         }
         // MODULE-HOOK:scheduling-pre-task-followup:end
 
@@ -650,6 +650,15 @@ function dispatchResultText(text: string, routing: RoutingContext): { sent: numb
 function sendToDestination(dest: DestinationEntry, body: string, routing: RoutingContext): void {
   const platformId = dest.type === 'channel' ? dest.platformId! : dest.agentGroupId!;
   const channelType = dest.type === 'channel' ? dest.channelType! : 'agent';
+  // Task fires: an explicitly-addressed final-text block is either the echo of
+  // an MCP send the agent already made this turn (drop it HERE, where the
+  // duplication originates) or the agent's only deliberate send (write it
+  // in_reply_to-null like the MCP path, or the host's task-fire suppression
+  // would discard it — zero delivery).
+  if (routing.taskFire && hasIdenticalSend(platformId, channelType, body)) {
+    log(`Dropping turn-final echo of an already-sent task message to ${dest.name}`);
+    return;
+  }
   // Resolve thread_id per-destination from the most recent inbound message
   // that came from this same channel+platform. In agent-shared sessions,
   // different destinations have different thread contexts — using a single
@@ -657,7 +666,7 @@ function sendToDestination(dest: DestinationEntry, body: string, routing: Routin
   const destRouting = resolveDestinationThread(channelType, platformId);
   writeMessageOut({
     id: generateId(),
-    in_reply_to: destRouting?.inReplyTo ?? routing.inReplyTo,
+    in_reply_to: destRouting?.inReplyTo ?? (routing.taskFire ? null : routing.inReplyTo),
     kind: 'chat',
     platform_id: platformId,
     channel_type: channelType,

container/agent-runner/src/providers/claude.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ function log(msg: string): void {
 // Code's interactive UI and would hang here).
 //
 // - CronCreate / CronDelete / CronList / ScheduleWakeup: we have durable
-//   scheduling via mcp__nanoclaw__schedule_task.
+//   scheduling via `ncl tasks`.
 // - AskUserQuestion: SDK returns a placeholder instead of blocking on a
 //   real answer — we have mcp__nanoclaw__ask_user_question that persists
 //   the question and blocks on the real reply.

container/agent-runner/src/scheduling/task-script.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/**
+ * Container leg of the script-failure backoff chain, tested at unit level so
+ * the e2e suite doesn't need a live multi-sweep scenario for it:
+ *
+ *   script error → applyPreTaskScripts skips with reason 'error'
+ *   → markScriptSkipped acks `script-skip:error` in outbound.db
+ *   (gated → plain 'completed': the monitor working as designed).
+ *
+ * The host leg (ack → FAILED run → streak backoff) is pinned in
+ * src/db/session-db.test.ts and src/modules/scheduling/recurrence.test.ts —
+ * both sides pin the literal 'script-skip:error'; if either renames it, its
+ * own test goes red.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'bun:test';
+
+import { initTestSessionDb, closeSessionDb, getInboundDb, getOutboundDb } from '../db/connection.js';
+import { getPendingMessages, markScriptSkipped } from '../db/messages-in.js';
+import { applyPreTaskScripts } from './task-script.js';
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  initTestSessionDb();
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  closeSessionDb();
+});
+
+function insertTask(id: string, script: string) {
+  getInboundDb()
+    .prepare(
+      `INSERT INTO messages_in (id, kind, timestamp, status, trigger, content)
+       VALUES (?, 'task', datetime('now'), 'pending', 1, ?)`,
+    )
+    .run(id, JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'monitor', script }));
+}
+
+const ackStatus = (id: string): string | undefined =>
+  (getOutboundDb().prepare('SELECT status FROM processing_ack WHERE message_id = ?').get(id) as { status: string } | undefined)
+    ?.status;
+
+describe('script-skip ack chain (container leg)', () => {
+  it('an erroring script skips with reason "error" and acks script-skip:error', async () => {
+    insertTask('t-err', 'echo boom >&2; exit 1');
+    const { keep, skipped } = await applyPreTaskScripts(getPendingMessages());
+
+    expect(keep).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(skipped).toEqual([{ id: 't-err', reason: 'error' }]);
+
+    markScriptSkipped(skipped);
+    expect(ackStatus('t-err')).toBe('script-skip:error');
+  });
+
+  it('a deliberate wakeAgent=false gate acks plain completed — never backs off', async () => {
+    insertTask('t-gated', 'echo \'{"wakeAgent": false}\'');
+    const { keep, skipped } = await applyPreTaskScripts(getPendingMessages());
+
+    expect(keep).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(skipped).toEqual([{ id: 't-gated', reason: 'gated' }]);
+
+    markScriptSkipped(skipped);
+    expect(ackStatus('t-gated')).toBe('completed');
+  });
+
+  it('wakeAgent=true keeps the task and enriches the prompt with script data', async () => {
+    insertTask('t-wake', 'echo \'{"wakeAgent": true, "data": {"alerts": 2}}\'');
+    const { keep, skipped } = await applyPreTaskScripts(getPendingMessages());
+
+    expect(skipped).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(keep).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(JSON.parse(keep[0].content).scriptOutput).toEqual({ alerts: 2 });
+  });
+});

container/agent-runner/src/scheduling/task-script.ts

@@ -64,21 +64,26 @@ export async function runScript(script: string, taskId: string): Promise<ScriptR
   });
 }
 
+/** Why a script gated its task: deliberate wakeAgent=false vs a broken script. */
+export type ScriptSkipReason = 'gated' | 'error';
+
 export interface TaskScriptOutcome {
   keep: MessageInRow[];
-  skipped: string[];
+  skipped: Array<{ id: string; reason: ScriptSkipReason }>;
 }
 
 /**
  * Run pre-task scripts for any task messages that carry one, serially.
- * - Errors / missing output / wakeAgent=false → task id added to `skipped`.
+ * - Errors / missing output / wakeAgent=false → task id added to `skipped`,
+ *   with the reason. The caller acks these as script-skips (not plain
+ *   completions) so the host can count consecutive failures and back off.
  * - wakeAgent=true → content JSON is mutated to carry `scriptOutput`, so the
  *   formatter renders it into the prompt.
  * Non-task messages and tasks without scripts pass through unchanged.
  */
 export async function applyPreTaskScripts(messages: MessageInRow[]): Promise<TaskScriptOutcome> {
   const keep: MessageInRow[] = [];
-  const skipped: string[] = [];
+  const skipped: Array<{ id: string; reason: ScriptSkipReason }> = [];
 
   for (const msg of messages) {
     if (msg.kind !== 'task') {
@@ -106,9 +111,9 @@ export async function applyPreTaskScripts(messages: MessageInRow[]): Promise<Tas
     touchHeartbeat();
 
     if (!result || !result.wakeAgent) {
-      const reason = result ? 'wakeAgent=false' : 'script error/no output';
-      log(`task ${msg.id} skipped: ${reason}`);
-      skipped.push(msg.id);
+      const reason: ScriptSkipReason = result ? 'gated' : 'error';
+      log(`task ${msg.id} skipped: ${reason === 'gated' ? 'wakeAgent=false' : 'script error/no output'}`);
+      skipped.push({ id: msg.id, reason });
       continue;
     }
 

docs/REQUIREMENTS.md

@@ -134,11 +134,11 @@ A personal AI assistant accessible via messaging, with minimal custom code.
 
 ### Scheduler
 - Built-in scheduler runs on the host, spawns containers for task execution
-- Custom `nanoclaw` MCP server (inside container) provides scheduling tools
-- Tools: `schedule_task`, `list_tasks`, `pause_task`, `resume_task`, `cancel_task`, `send_message`
+- `ncl tasks` provides scheduling commands
+- Commands: `list`, `get`, `create`, `update`, `cancel`, `pause`, `resume`, `delete`, `run`, `append-log`
 - Tasks stored in SQLite with run history
 - Scheduler loop checks for due tasks every minute
-- Tasks execute Claude Agent SDK in containerized group context
+- Tasks execute in the agent group's system session
 
 ### Web Access
 - Built-in WebSearch and WebFetch tools

docs/SPEC.md

@@ -579,12 +579,7 @@ NanoClaw has a built-in scheduler that runs tasks as full agents in their group'
 ```
 User: @Andy remind me every Monday at 9am to review the weekly metrics
 
-Claude: [calls mcp__nanoclaw__schedule_task]
-        {
-          "prompt": "Send a reminder to review weekly metrics. Be encouraging!",
-          "schedule_type": "cron",
-          "schedule_value": "0 9 * * 1"
-        }
+Claude: [runs ncl tasks create --prompt "Send a reminder to review weekly metrics. Be encouraging!" --process-after "2024-02-05T09:00:00" --recurrence "0 9 * * 1"]
 
 Claude: Done! I'll remind you every Monday at 9am.
 ```
@@ -594,12 +589,7 @@ Claude: Done! I'll remind you every Monday at 9am.
 ```
 User: @Andy at 5pm today, send me a summary of today's emails
 
-Claude: [calls mcp__nanoclaw__schedule_task]
-        {
-          "prompt": "Search for today's emails, summarize the important ones, and send the summary to the group.",
-          "schedule_type": "once",
-          "schedule_value": "2024-01-31T17:00:00Z"
-        }
+Claude: [runs ncl tasks create --prompt "Search for today's emails, summarize the important ones, and send the summary to the group." --process-after "2024-01-31T17:00:00"]
 ```
 
 ### Managing Tasks
@@ -620,18 +610,11 @@ From main channel:
 
 ### NanoClaw MCP (built-in)
 
-The `nanoclaw` MCP server is created dynamically per agent call with the current group's context.
+The `nanoclaw` MCP server is created dynamically per agent call with the current group's context. Scheduled task management lives in `ncl tasks`, not MCP.
 
 **Available Tools:**
 | Tool | Purpose |
 |------|---------|
-| `schedule_task` | Schedule a recurring or one-time task |
-| `list_tasks` | Show tasks (group's tasks, or all if main) |
-| `get_task` | Get task details and run history |
-| `update_task` | Modify task prompt or schedule |
-| `pause_task` | Pause a task |
-| `resume_task` | Resume a paused task |
-| `cancel_task` | Delete a task |
 | `send_message` | Send a message to the group via its channel |
 
 ---

docs/agent-runner-details.md

@@ -634,52 +634,18 @@ destination is of type `agent`. `resolveRouting` maps it to a `messages_out` row
 `channel_type: 'agent'` and `platform_id` set to the target agent group id; the host
 validates the send and routes it into the target session's `inbound.db`.
 
-#### schedule_task
+#### ncl tasks
 
-Schedule a one-shot or recurring task.
+Schedule, inspect, and modify one-shot or recurring tasks.
 
-```typescript
-{
-  name: 'schedule_task',
-  params: {
-    prompt: string,             // task prompt
-    processAfter: string,       // ISO timestamp for first run
-    recurrence?: string,        // cron expression (optional)
-    script?: string,            // pre-agent script (optional)
-  }
-}
+```bash
+ncl tasks create --prompt "..." --process-after "2026-01-15T09:00:00" --recurrence "0 9 * * *"
+ncl tasks list
+ncl tasks update <series_id> --prompt "..."
+ncl tasks cancel <series_id>
 ```
 
-Implementation: the container can't write host-owned `inbound.db`, so this writes a `messages_out` row with `kind: 'system'` and `action: 'schedule_task'` (`container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/scheduling.ts`). During delivery the host's action handler (`src/modules/scheduling/actions.ts` → `insertTask()` in `src/modules/scheduling/db.ts`) inserts the `kind: 'task'` row into `inbound.db` with `process_after` and optionally `recurrence`. The host sweep picks it up when due.
-
-#### list_tasks
-
-List active scheduled/recurring tasks.
-
-```typescript
-{
-  name: 'list_tasks',
-  params: {}
-}
-```
-
-Implementation: a read, not a write — the container may read the read-only `inbound.db` mount directly. Returns one row per series (the live pending/paused occurrence): `SELECT series_id AS id, ... FROM messages_in WHERE kind = 'task' AND status IN ('pending','paused') GROUP BY series_id`. See `container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/scheduling.ts`.
-
-#### cancel_task / pause_task / resume_task / update_task
-
-Modify a scheduled task.
-
-```typescript
-{
-  name: 'cancel_task',
-  params: { taskId: string }
-}
-// pause_task: set status = 'paused' (new status value for recurring tasks)
-// resume_task: set status = 'pending'
-// update_task: merge { prompt?, recurrence?, processAfter?, script? } into the live row
-```
-
-Implementation: all four are sent as system actions (`messages_out`, `kind: 'system'`, `action: 'cancel_task' | 'pause_task' | 'resume_task' | 'update_task'`) — the container never writes `inbound.db`. The host's handlers in `src/modules/scheduling/actions.ts` apply the change against `inbound.db` via `src/modules/scheduling/db.ts`: cancel/pause/resume flip status on the live row(s); update_task reads current content, merges supplied fields, and writes back. All four match by `(id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind='task' AND status IN ('pending','paused')`, so they reach the live next occurrence of a recurring task even when the agent passes the original (now-completed) id.
+Implementation: the host writes `messages_in` task rows into the agent group's system session (`thread_id = system:tasks`). The host sweep wakes that system-session container when a task is due. The task agent chooses its destination at fire time by emitting `<message to="name">...</message>` or using `send_message`.
 
 #### create_agent
 

docs/architecture-diagram.md

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ flowchart TB
     direction TB
     PollLoop["Poll Loop<br/>(container/agent-runner)"]
     Provider["Agent providers<br/>(claude — the only one registered in trunk;<br/>opencode ships via the /add-opencode skill)"]
-    MCP["MCP Tools<br/>send_message, send_file, edit_message,<br/>add_reaction, send_card, ask_user_question,<br/>schedule_task, create_agent,<br/>install_packages, add_mcp_server"]
+    MCP["MCP Tools<br/>send_message, send_file, edit_message,<br/>add_reaction, send_card, ask_user_question,<br/>create_agent, install_packages, add_mcp_server<br/>CLI: ncl tasks"]
     Skills["Container Skills<br/>(container/skills/)"]
     InDB[("inbound.db<br/>host writes<br/>even seq<br/>messages_in<br/>delivered<br/>destinations<br/>session_routing")]
     OutDB[("outbound.db<br/>container writes<br/>odd seq<br/>messages_out<br/>processing_ack<br/>session_state<br/>container_state<br/>heartbeat file")]

docs/architecture.md

@@ -904,13 +904,10 @@ MCP tools write to the container's own `outbound.db`. Anything that needs a chan
 
 (There is no `send_to_agent` tool — agent-to-agent is `send_message` to an `agent` destination.)
 
-**Scheduling** (all emit `kind: 'system'` actions except the read-only `list_tasks`):
-
-| Tool | What it does |
-|------|-------------|
-| `schedule_task` | `action: 'schedule_task'`; host inserts the `kind: 'task'` `messages_in` row with `process_after` + optional `recurrence` |
-| `list_tasks` | Read `inbound.db` (read-only) — one row per series: `kind = 'task' AND status IN ('pending','paused') GROUP BY series_id` |
-| `pause_task` / `resume_task` / `cancel_task` / `update_task` | matching `action`; host updates the live `messages_in` row(s) |
+**Scheduling**: scheduled-task management is not an MCP surface — it lives on
+`ncl tasks` (create/list/get/update/cancel/pause/resume/run/append-log). Due
+task rows live in the agent group's system session and are woken by the host
+sweep.
 
 **Central-DB / self-modification** (`kind: 'system'` actions; host authorizes, often via admin approval):
 

docs/ncl-tasks-migration.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# `ncl tasks` migration
+
+## Detect
+
+If an agent mentions `schedule_task`, `list_tasks`, `update_task`, `cancel_task`, `pause_task`, or `resume_task`, it is using the old scheduling MCP surface.
+
+A subtler symptom of a stale container image: the agent reports a task as scheduled, but `ncl tasks list` shows nothing and the host log has `Unknown system action` — the old image's `schedule_task` call is acknowledged in-container and then dropped by the new host. The fix below (rebuild + restart) resolves it.
+
+## Why
+
+Scheduling moved to `ncl tasks`. New tasks are stored in a per-agent-group system session and run there, so a scheduled task does not wake an existing chat session. When it fires, the agent must choose the delivery destination explicitly.
+
+## Fix
+
+Rebuild and restart agent containers so they load the updated MCP tool list and instructions:
+
+```bash
+./container/build.sh
+launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.nanoclaw
+```
+
+On Linux, restart with `systemctl --user restart nanoclaw`.
+
+Use:
+
+```bash
+ncl tasks list
+ncl tasks create --group <agent_group_id> --prompt "..." --process-after "2026-01-15T09:00:00" --recurrence "0 9 * * *"
+ncl tasks update --id <series_id> --prompt "..."
+ncl tasks cancel --id <series_id>
+```
+
+## Verify
+
+Run `ncl tasks list`. New task rows should show a system `session_id`, not the chat session that requested the task.
+
+## Legacy tasks (scheduled before this update)
+
+Tasks created through the old MCP tools live in the **chat session** that created them, not in a per-series system session. They are unaffected by this update: they keep firing and delivering exactly as before. Two things to know:
+
+- An agent's own `ncl tasks list` (group scope) shows only its group's task rows; from the **host**, unscoped `ncl tasks list` enumerates everything, and `--session <id>` narrows to one session — that is how you find and manage legacy rows (`ncl tasks cancel --session <chat_session_id> --all` to clear a chat session's tasks).
+- The `messages_in` status enum now includes `cancelled` (cancel marks the row and clears its recurrence rather than deleting it). Custom code that exhaustively switches on task status needs the new arm.
+
+## Rollback
+
+Order matters:
+
+1. Remove tasks created through `ncl tasks` (`ncl tasks list` / `delete`) — they live in per-series system sessions the old code doesn't know about.
+2. **Wait one sweep (≤60s)** so the host closes the now-empty task sessions.
+3. Then revert the update and rebuild the container image.
+
+Reverting before the task sessions are collected leaves system sessions behind that the old `findSessionByAgentGroup` (which has no system-session exclusion) can resolve as the group's session — mis-routing agent-to-agent messages into a dead task thread.

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "nanoclaw",
-  "version": "2.1.39",
+  "version": "2.1.40",
   "description": "Personal Claude assistant. Lightweight, secure, customizable.",
   "type": "module",
   "packageManager": "pnpm@10.33.0",

repo-tokens/badge.svg

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" width="90" height="20" role="img" aria-label="209k tokens, 104% of context window">
-  <title>209k tokens, 104% of context window</title>
+<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" width="90" height="20" role="img" aria-label="213k tokens, 106% of context window">
+  <title>213k tokens, 106% of context window</title>
   <linearGradient id="s" x2="0" y2="100%">
     <stop offset="0" stop-color="#bbb" stop-opacity=".1"/>
     <stop offset="1" stop-opacity=".1"/>
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@
       <g fill="#fff" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Verdana,Geneva,DejaVu Sans,sans-serif" font-size="11">
         <text aria-hidden="true" x="26" y="15" fill="#010101" fill-opacity=".3">tokens</text>
         <text x="26" y="14">tokens</text>
-        <text aria-hidden="true" x="71" y="15" fill="#010101" fill-opacity=".3">209k</text>
-        <text x="71" y="14">209k</text>
+        <text aria-hidden="true" x="71" y="15" fill="#010101" fill-opacity=".3">213k</text>
+        <text x="71" y="14">213k</text>
       </g>
     </g>
   </a>

src/claude-md-compose.test.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ vi.mock('./log.js', () => ({
 }));
 
 import { composeGroupClaudeMd } from './claude-md-compose.js';
-import { ensureContainerConfig } from './db/container-configs.js';
+import { ensureContainerConfig, updateContainerConfigScalars } from './db/container-configs.js';
 import { closeDb, createAgentGroup, initTestDb, runMigrations } from './db/index.js';
 import { PERSONA_PREPEND_FILE } from './group-persona.js';
 import type { AgentGroup } from './types.js';
@@ -91,3 +91,28 @@ describe('composeGroupClaudeMd persona prepend', () => {
     expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(GROUPS_DIR, ag.folder, '.claude-fragments', 'persona.md'))).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+describe('composeGroupClaudeMd scheduling instructions (ncl tasks reach-in)', () => {
+  // Red-on-delete guard for the `scheduling`/`cli` exclusion at the
+  // module-fragment loop: the agent is taught `ncl tasks` iff it has ncl.
+  it('imports module-scheduling.md at the default cli_scope', () => {
+    const ag = group('ag-sched', 'sched-group');
+    seed(ag);
+
+    composeGroupClaudeMd(ag);
+
+    expect(importsOf(ag.folder)).toContain('@./.claude-fragments/module-scheduling.md');
+  });
+
+  it('excludes module-scheduling.md (and module-cli.md) when cli_scope is disabled', () => {
+    const ag = group('ag-sched-off', 'sched-group-off');
+    seed(ag);
+    updateContainerConfigScalars(ag.id, { cli_scope: 'disabled' });
+
+    composeGroupClaudeMd(ag);
+
+    const imports = importsOf(ag.folder);
+    expect(imports).not.toContain('@./.claude-fragments/module-scheduling.md');
+    expect(imports).not.toContain('@./.claude-fragments/module-cli.md');
+  });
+});

src/claude-md-compose.ts

@@ -80,10 +80,12 @@ export function composeGroupClaudeMd(group: AgentGroup): void {
     }
   }
 
-  // Built-in module fragments — every MCP tool source file that ships a
+  // Built-in module fragments — every MCP/CLI module that ships a
   // sibling `<name>.instructions.md`. These describe how the agent should
-  // use that module's MCP tools (schedule_task, install_packages, etc.).
-  // Skip cli.instructions.md when cli_scope is disabled.
+  // use that module's tools (`ncl tasks`, install_packages, etc.).
+  // Skip ncl-dependent instructions when cli_scope is disabled. `scheduling`
+  // teaches `ncl tasks`, so it is just as dead as `cli` itself when the agent
+  // has no ncl — dispatch rejects every cli_request and ncl is excluded.
   const cliDisabled = configRow?.cli_scope === 'disabled';
   const mcpToolsHostDir = path.join(process.cwd(), MCP_TOOLS_HOST_SUBPATH);
   if (fs.existsSync(mcpToolsHostDir)) {
@@ -91,7 +93,7 @@ export function composeGroupClaudeMd(group: AgentGroup): void {
       const match = entry.match(/^(.+)\.instructions\.md$/);
       if (!match) continue;
       const moduleName = match[1];
-      if (moduleName === 'cli' && cliDisabled) continue;
+      if ((moduleName === 'cli' || moduleName === 'scheduling') && cliDisabled) continue;
       desired.set(`module-${moduleName}.md`, {
         type: 'symlink',
         content: `${SHARED_MCP_TOOLS_CONTAINER_BASE}/${entry}`,

src/cli/dispatch.test.ts

@@ -115,6 +115,15 @@ register({
   handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
 });
 
+register({
+  name: 'tasks-list',
+  description: 'test command (tasks resource)',
+  resource: 'tasks',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
 register({
   name: 'wirings-list',
   description: 'test command (wirings resource — not allowed)',
@@ -218,6 +227,7 @@ beforeEach(() => {
     sessions: 'agent_group_id',
     destinations: 'agent_group_id',
     members: 'agent_group_id',
+    tasks: 'agent_group_id',
   };
   mockGetResource.mockImplementation((plural: string) =>
     scopeFields[plural] ? { scopeField: scopeFields[plural] } : undefined,
@@ -364,6 +374,19 @@ describe('CLI scope enforcement', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('group: allows tasks, auto-fills --group', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'tasks-list', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const data = resp.data as { echo: Record<string, unknown> };
+      expect(data.echo.group).toBe('g1');
+      expect(data.echo.id).toBeUndefined();
+    }
+  });
+
   it('group: blocks non-whitelisted resources (wirings)', async () => {
     mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
 

src/cli/format-tasks.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/**
+ * Compact aligned-table renderer for `ncl tasks list` (human mode only).
+ *
+ * A task series is a recurring job; each fire is a run. This surfaces the run history
+ * the raw row hides — run count, last/next fire, schedule — as an aligned table.
+ * Driven by the enriched rows from listTasks (tasks.ts); the --json path is
+ * untouched. `now` is injectable so the relative times are testable.
+ */
+
+interface TaskListRow {
+  series_id: string;
+  schedule?: string | null;
+  runs?: number;
+  failed_runs?: number;
+  last_run?: string | null;
+  next_run?: string | null;
+  status?: string;
+  log?: string | null;
+  created_at?: string | null;
+  prompt?: string | null;
+}
+
+const COLS = ['SERIES', 'SCHEDULE', 'RUNS', 'FAILED', 'LAST RUN', 'NEXT RUN', 'STATUS', 'AGE', 'PROMPT'] as const;
+
+function parseMs(iso: string): number {
+  return Date.parse(/[Z+]|[+-]\d\d:\d\d$/.test(iso) ? iso : iso + 'Z');
+}
+
+/** "1m ago" / "in 30s" — coarse, human relative time. */
+function duration(ms: number): string {
+  const s = Math.abs(ms) / 1000;
+  if (s < 60) return `${Math.round(s)}s`;
+  if (s < 3600) return `${Math.round(s / 60)}m`;
+  if (s < 86400) return `${Math.round(s / 3600)}h`;
+  return `${Math.round(s / 86400)}d`;
+}
+
+function lastRun(iso: string | null | undefined, now: number): string {
+  if (!iso) return '-';
+  const t = parseMs(iso);
+  if (Number.isNaN(t)) return iso;
+  return `${duration(now - t)} ago`;
+}
+
+function nextRun(iso: string | null | undefined, now: number): string {
+  if (!iso) return '-';
+  const t = parseMs(iso);
+  if (Number.isNaN(t)) return iso;
+  return t <= now ? 'due' : `in ${duration(t - now)}`;
+}
+
+/** AGE — how long since the series was created. */
+function age(iso: string | null | undefined, now: number): string {
+  if (!iso) return '-';
+  const t = parseMs(iso);
+  return Number.isNaN(t) ? '-' : duration(now - t);
+}
+
+function clip(s: string | null | undefined, n: number): string {
+  const v = (s ?? '').replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+  return v.length > n ? v.slice(0, n - 1) + '…' : v;
+}
+
+export function formatTasksTable(rows: TaskListRow[], now: number = Date.now()): string {
+  if (!rows.length) return 'No tasks.';
+  const body = rows.map((r) => [
+    r.series_id, // full id, copy-pasteable into `ncl tasks get --id <…>`
+    r.schedule || 'once',
+    String(r.runs ?? 0),
+    String(r.failed_runs ?? 0),
+    lastRun(r.last_run, now),
+    nextRun(r.next_run, now),
+    r.status ?? '-',
+    age(r.created_at, now),
+    clip(r.prompt, 40),
+  ]);
+  const widths = COLS.map((c, i) => Math.max(c.length, ...body.map((row) => row[i].length)));
+  const line = (cells: string[]) =>
+    cells
+      .map((c, i) => c.padEnd(widths[i]))
+      .join('  ')
+      .trimEnd();
+  return [line([...COLS]), ...body.map(line)].join('\n');
+}

src/cli/registry.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import type { CallerContext } from './frame.js';
  * consumed by both dispatch enforcement and `ncl help` filtering, so the
  * agent is never shown a resource the gate would reject (or vice versa).
  */
-export const GROUP_SCOPE_RESOURCES = new Set(['groups', 'sessions', 'destinations', 'members']);
+export const GROUP_SCOPE_RESOURCES = new Set(['groups', 'sessions', 'destinations', 'members', 'tasks']);
 
 export type Access = 'open' | 'approval' | 'hidden';
 

src/cli/resources/destinations.ts

@@ -58,10 +58,39 @@ registerResource({
       type: 'string',
       description: "The target's ID — messaging_groups.id for channels, agent_groups.id for agents.",
     },
+    { name: 'channel_type', type: 'string', description: 'Resolved channel type for channel destinations.' },
+    { name: 'display_name', type: 'string', description: 'Resolved chat title or agent name.' },
     { name: 'created_at', type: 'string', description: 'Auto-set.' },
   ],
-  operations: { list: 'open' },
+  operations: {},
   customOperations: {
+    list: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'List destinations with resolved channel/title labels.',
+      handler: async (args) => {
+        const agentGroupId = (args.agent_group_id as string | undefined) ?? (args.id as string | undefined);
+        const params: unknown[] = [];
+        const where = agentGroupId ? 'WHERE ad.agent_group_id = ?' : '';
+        if (agentGroupId) params.push(agentGroupId);
+        return getDb()
+          .prepare(
+            `SELECT
+               ad.agent_group_id,
+               ad.local_name,
+               ad.target_type,
+               ad.target_id,
+               CASE WHEN ad.target_type = 'channel' THEN mg.channel_type ELSE NULL END AS channel_type,
+               CASE WHEN ad.target_type = 'channel' THEN mg.name ELSE ag.name END AS display_name,
+               ad.created_at
+             FROM agent_destinations ad
+             LEFT JOIN messaging_groups mg ON ad.target_type = 'channel' AND ad.target_id = mg.id
+             LEFT JOIN agent_groups ag ON ad.target_type = 'agent' AND ad.target_id = ag.id
+             ${where}
+             ORDER BY ad.agent_group_id, ad.local_name`,
+          )
+          .all(...params);
+      },
+    },
     add: {
       access: 'approval',
       description: 'Add a destination for an agent. Use --agent-group-id, --local-name, --target-type, --target-id.',

src/cli/resources/index.ts

@@ -14,3 +14,4 @@ import './user-dms.js';
 import './dropped-messages.js';
 import './approvals.js';
 import './sessions.js';
+import './tasks.js';

src/cli/resources/tasks.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,575 @@
+import Database from 'better-sqlite3';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+vi.mock('../../config.js', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual('../../config.js');
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    DATA_DIR: '/tmp/nanoclaw-test-cli-tasks',
+    GROUPS_DIR: '/tmp/nanoclaw-test-cli-tasks/groups',
+    TIMEZONE: 'UTC',
+  };
+});
+
+vi.mock('../../container-runner.js', () => ({
+  wakeContainer: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+  isContainerRunning: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
+  getActiveContainerCount: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(0),
+  killContainer: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+const TEST_DIR = '/tmp/nanoclaw-test-cli-tasks';
+
+import { initTestDb, closeDb, runMigrations, createAgentGroup } from '../../db/index.js';
+import { createSession, findSessionByAgentGroup, getSessionsByAgentGroup, taskThreadId } from '../../db/sessions.js';
+import { countDueMessages } from '../../db/session-db.js';
+import { inboundDbPath, initSessionFolder } from '../../session-manager.js';
+import { dispatch } from '../dispatch.js';
+import { formatTasksTable } from '../format-tasks.js';
+import type { CallerContext } from '../frame.js';
+import './tasks.js';
+import '../commands/index.js'; // registers tasks-help for the help-topic test
+
+function now(): string {
+  return new Date().toISOString();
+}
+
+function createGroup(id: string): void {
+  createAgentGroup({ id, name: id, folder: id, agent_provider: null, created_at: now() });
+}
+
+function createChatSession(group: string, id: string): void {
+  createSession({
+    id,
+    agent_group_id: group,
+    messaging_group_id: null,
+    thread_id: null,
+    agent_provider: null,
+    status: 'active',
+    container_status: 'stopped',
+    last_active: null,
+    created_at: now(),
+  });
+  initSessionFolder(group, id);
+}
+
+function agentCtx(group = 'ag-1', session = 'chat-1'): CallerContext {
+  return { caller: 'agent', agentGroupId: group, sessionId: session, messagingGroupId: 'mg-1' };
+}
+
+describe('tasks CLI resource', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    if (fs.existsSync(TEST_DIR)) fs.rmSync(TEST_DIR, { recursive: true });
+    fs.mkdirSync(TEST_DIR, { recursive: true });
+    const db = initTestDb();
+    runMigrations(db);
+    createGroup('ag-1');
+    createGroup('ag-2');
+    createChatSession('ag-1', 'chat-1');
+    createChatSession('ag-2', 'chat-2');
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    closeDb();
+    if (fs.existsSync(TEST_DIR)) fs.rmSync(TEST_DIR, { recursive: true });
+  });
+
+  it('create writes the task into the group system session, not the caller chat session', async () => {
+    const resp = await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'req-1',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'send a briefing', process_after: '2026-01-15T09:00:00Z' },
+      },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!resp.ok) return;
+    const created = resp.data as { series_id: string; session_id: string };
+    expect(created.session_id).not.toBe('chat-1');
+
+    // The task lands in its own isolated per-series session, not the chat session.
+    const sessions = getSessionsByAgentGroup('ag-1');
+    const taskSession = sessions.find((s) => s.id === created.session_id);
+    expect(taskSession?.thread_id).toBe(taskThreadId(created.series_id));
+
+    const chatDb = new Database(inboundDbPath('ag-1', 'chat-1'), { readonly: true });
+    expect(chatDb.prepare("SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM messages_in WHERE kind = 'task'").get()).toEqual({
+      count: 0,
+    });
+    chatDb.close();
+
+    const systemDb = new Database(inboundDbPath('ag-1', created.session_id), { readonly: true });
+    const row = systemDb.prepare("SELECT content FROM messages_in WHERE kind = 'task'").get() as { content: string };
+    const content = JSON.parse(row.content);
+    expect(content).toMatchObject({ originSessionId: 'chat-1' });
+    expect(content.prompt).toContain('send a briefing');
+    expect(content.prompt).toContain(`tasks/${created.series_id}.md`); // log-path hint injected
+    systemDb.close();
+  });
+
+  it('tasks-list attaches a server-rendered human table (so the container agent gets it too)', async () => {
+    await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'c',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'briefing', process_after: '2999-01-01T00:00:00Z' },
+      },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: 'l', command: 'tasks-list', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!resp.ok) return;
+    // Red-on-delete guard for the dispatch wiring: the host renders format-tasks
+    // once and ships it as `human`, so the Bun container prints the aligned
+    // table instead of a raw column dump (it cannot import the host formatter).
+    expect(resp.human).toBeDefined();
+    expect(resp.human).toMatch(/SERIES\s+SCHEDULE\s+RUNS\s+FAILED\s+LAST RUN\s+NEXT RUN/);
+    expect(resp.human).toContain('briefing-');
+  });
+
+  it('recurrence more frequent than 4x/day is refused with the quota warning', async () => {
+    const resp = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'c', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'spam', recurrence: '*/2 * * * *' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('this task has not been scheduled');
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('ncl tasks create --help');
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('--dangerously-override-recurrence-limit');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('exactly 4 fires/day passes; the override flag bypasses the limit', async () => {
+    const four = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'c4', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'four', recurrence: '0 0,6,12,18 * * *' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(four.ok).toBe(true);
+
+    const overridden = await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'co',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'fast', recurrence: '*/30 * * * *', dangerously_override_recurrence_limit: true },
+      },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(overridden.ok).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('a --script gate exempts frequent recurrence — the sanctioned monitor pattern', async () => {
+    const scripted = await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'cs',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: {
+          prompt: 'triage queue',
+          name: 'watch',
+          recurrence: '*/10 * * * *',
+          script: 'echo {"wakeAgent": false}',
+        },
+      },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(scripted.ok).toBe(true);
+
+    // update --recurrence on a task that already has a script: also exempt.
+    if (!scripted.ok) return;
+    const seriesId = (scripted.data as { series_id: string }).series_id;
+    const upd = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'us', command: 'tasks-update', args: { id: seriesId, recurrence: '*/5 * * * *' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(upd.ok).toBe(true);
+
+    // …but clearing the script in the same update re-arms the guard.
+    const cleared = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'uc', command: 'tasks-update', args: { id: seriesId, recurrence: '*/5 * * * *', script: 'none' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(cleared.ok).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('the limit also guards update --recurrence (no create-slow-then-update bypass)', async () => {
+    const created = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'c', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'sneak', recurrence: '0 9 * * *' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(created.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!created.ok) return;
+    const seriesId = (created.data as { series_id: string }).series_id;
+
+    const upd = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'u', command: 'tasks-update', args: { id: seriesId, recurrence: '* * * * *' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+    expect(upd.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!upd.ok) expect(upd.error.message).toContain('this task has not been scheduled');
+  });
+
+  it('tasks create --help carries the script contract and the frequency-limit caveat', async () => {
+    // --help and `tasks help create` render the same deep verb help.
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: 'h', command: 'tasks-create', args: { help: true } }, agentCtx());
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const text = resp.data as string;
+      expect(text).toContain('wakeAgent');
+      expect(text).toContain('Frequency limit');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('agent-shared lookup skips the task system session', async () => {
+    await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'req-1',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'send a briefing', process_after: '2026-01-15T09:00:00Z' },
+      },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+
+    expect(findSessionByAgentGroup('ag-1')?.id).toBe('chat-1');
+  });
+
+  it('group-scoped agents cannot list tasks from another group session', async () => {
+    const resp = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'req-1', command: 'tasks-list', args: { session: 'chat-2' } },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('handler-error');
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('session not found');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('--name yields a short, readable, fs/thread-safe id', async () => {
+    const r = await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'rn',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'Morning Joke!!', process_after: '2999-01-01T00:00:00Z' },
+      },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!r.ok) return;
+    const id = (r.data as { series_id: string }).series_id;
+    expect(id).toMatch(/^morning-joke-[0-9a-f]{4}$/);
+    expect(id).toMatch(/^[a-z0-9-]+$/); // safe as thread suffix / filename / --id
+  });
+
+  it('no name yields a t-<hex> id', async () => {
+    const r = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'rnn', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'x', process_after: '2999-01-01T00:00:00Z' } },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!r.ok) return;
+    expect((r.data as { series_id: string }).series_id).toMatch(/^t-[0-9a-f]{6}$/);
+  });
+
+  it('recurring create derives the first run from the cron grid when --process-after is omitted', async () => {
+    const r = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'rec', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'nightly', recurrence: '0 9 * * 1-5' } },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!r.ok) return;
+    const task = r.data as { process_after: string; recurrence: string };
+    expect(task.recurrence).toBe('0 9 * * 1-5');
+    // First fire snapped onto the cron grid (TIMEZONE=UTC in this suite).
+    const firstRun = new Date(task.process_after);
+    expect(Number.isNaN(firstRun.getTime())).toBe(false);
+    expect(firstRun.getUTCHours()).toBe(9);
+    expect(firstRun.getTime()).toBeGreaterThan(Date.now());
+  });
+
+  it('one-shot create still requires --process-after (nothing to derive it from)', async () => {
+    const r = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'os', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'once' } },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) expect(r.error.message).toContain('--process-after is required');
+  });
+
+  it('run queues an extra immediate occurrence without consuming the scheduled one', async () => {
+    const created = await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'c',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'pingable', process_after: '2999-01-01T00:00:00Z' },
+      },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(created.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!created.ok) return;
+    const { series_id, session_id } = created.data as { series_id: string; session_id: string };
+
+    const run = await dispatch({ id: 'r', command: 'tasks-run', args: { id: series_id } }, agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'));
+    expect(run.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!run.ok) return;
+    const fired = run.data as { series_id: string; row_id: string; status: string };
+    expect(fired.series_id).toBe(series_id);
+    expect(fired.row_id).not.toBe(series_id);
+    expect(fired.status).toBe('pending');
+
+    const db = new Database(inboundDbPath('ag-1', session_id), { readonly: true });
+    const pending = db
+      .prepare(
+        "SELECT id, recurrence, process_after FROM messages_in WHERE kind = 'task' AND status = 'pending' AND series_id = ?",
+      )
+      .all(series_id) as Array<{ id: string; recurrence: string | null; process_after: string }>;
+    db.close();
+    // Original scheduled row + the new run-now occurrence both still pending.
+    expect(pending).toHaveLength(2);
+    const runRow = pending.find((p) => p.id === fired.row_id);
+    expect(runRow?.recurrence).toBeNull(); // never re-armed into a phantom series
+    expect(new Date(runRow!.process_after).getTime()).toBeLessThanOrEqual(Date.now());
+  });
+
+  it('task object exposes origin_session_id and created_at', async () => {
+    const r = await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'ro',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'x', name: 'o', process_after: '2999-01-01T00:00:00Z' },
+      },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!r.ok) return;
+    const d = r.data as { origin_session_id: string | null; created_at: string };
+    expect(d.origin_session_id).toBe('chat-1'); // the session that created it
+    expect(d.created_at).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it('each task gets its own isolated session, and list fans out across them', async () => {
+    const a = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'r-a', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'task A', process_after: '2026-01-15T09:00:00Z' } },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    const b = await dispatch(
+      { id: 'r-b', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'task B', process_after: '2026-01-15T09:00:00Z' } },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(a.ok && b.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!a.ok || !b.ok) return;
+    const ta = a.data as { session_id: string; series_id: string };
+    const tb = b.data as { session_id: string; series_id: string };
+
+    // Distinct per-series sessions — not one shared system:tasks session.
+    expect(ta.session_id).not.toBe(tb.session_id);
+
+    // list (no --session) fans out across every task session in the group.
+    const list = await dispatch({ id: 'r-l', command: 'tasks-list', args: {} }, agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'));
+    expect(list.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!list.ok) return;
+    const ids = (list.data as Array<{ series_id: string }>).map((t) => t.series_id);
+    expect(ids).toContain(ta.series_id);
+    expect(ids).toContain(tb.series_id);
+  });
+
+  it('list enriches each series with run history (CronJob view)', async () => {
+    const created = await dispatch(
+      {
+        id: 'r-agg',
+        command: 'tasks-create',
+        args: { prompt: 'brain digest', recurrence: '0 9 * * *', 'process-after': '2026-01-15T09:05:00Z' },
+      },
+      agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+    );
+    expect(created.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!created.ok) return;
+    const { session_id, series_id } = created.data as { session_id: string; series_id: string };
+
+    // Seed three completed fires for this series into its own session inbound.db.
+    const db = new Database(inboundDbPath('ag-1', session_id));
+    const ins = db.prepare(
+      'INSERT INTO messages_in (id, seq, timestamp, status, tries, kind, content, series_id, process_after) ' +
+        "VALUES (?, ?, datetime('now'), 'completed', 0, 'task', '{}', ?, ?)",
+    );
+    ins.run('run-1', 100, series_id, '2026-01-15T09:02:00Z');
+    ins.run('run-2', 102, series_id, '2026-01-15T09:03:00Z');
+    ins.run('run-3', 104, series_id, '2026-01-15T09:04:00Z');
+    db.close();
+
+    const list = await dispatch({ id: 'r-agg-l', command: 'tasks-list', args: {} }, agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'));
+    expect(list.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!list.ok) return;
+    const row = (list.data as Array<Record<string, unknown>>).find((t) => t.series_id === series_id);
+    expect(row).toBeDefined();
+    expect(row?.runs).toBe(3);
+    expect(row?.last_run).toBe('2026-01-15T09:04:00Z'); // max completed process_after
+    expect(String(row?.next_run)).toMatch(/^2026-01-15T09:05:00/); // the live pending occurrence
+    expect(row?.schedule).toBe('0 9 * * *');
+    expect(row?.log).toBe(`tasks/${series_id}.md`);
+  });
+
+  // The schedule→wake primitive without a container: a task created through the
+  // real `ncl tasks create` path must land in the agent group's system session
+  // AND be counted by the same due-message query the host sweep uses to decide a
+  // wake. Goes red if trigger defaulting, system-session routing, or the due
+  // predicate ever drift apart.
+  describe('a due task makes the system session wakeable', () => {
+    it('countDueMessages sees a past task and ignores a future one', async () => {
+      const created = await dispatch(
+        { id: 'r-due', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'run me', 'process-after': '2020-01-01T00:00:00Z' } },
+        agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+      );
+      expect(created.ok).toBe(true);
+      if (!created.ok) return;
+      const systemId = (created.data as { session_id: string }).session_id;
+
+      const dueDb = new Database(inboundDbPath('ag-1', systemId), { readonly: true });
+      expect(countDueMessages(dueDb)).toBe(1); // host sweep would wake this session
+      dueDb.close();
+
+      // A far-future task in the same system session is not yet due.
+      const future = await dispatch(
+        { id: 'r-fut', command: 'tasks-create', args: { prompt: 'later', 'process-after': '2999-01-01T00:00:00Z' } },
+        agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+      );
+      expect(future.ok).toBe(true);
+
+      const stillDb = new Database(inboundDbPath('ag-1', systemId), { readonly: true });
+      expect(countDueMessages(stillDb)).toBe(1); // still just the one past task
+      stillDb.close();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('append-log', () => {
+    const logFile = (folder: string, series: string) => `${TEST_DIR}/groups/${folder}/tasks/${series}.md`;
+
+    it('writes a host-timestamped line to the run log and creates the file (explicit --id)', async () => {
+      const resp = await dispatch(
+        { id: 'al-1', command: 'tasks-append-log', args: { id: 'my-task-1', msg: 'did the thing; it worked' } },
+        agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+      );
+      expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+      if (!resp.ok) return;
+      const content = fs.readFileSync(logFile('ag-1', 'my-task-1'), 'utf8').trim();
+      expect(content).toMatch(/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}Z — did the thing; it worked$/);
+    });
+
+    it('derives the series from the caller task session when --id is omitted', async () => {
+      const created = await dispatch(
+        {
+          id: 'al-c',
+          command: 'tasks-create',
+          args: { name: 'derive-me', prompt: 'x', 'process-after': '2999-01-01T00:00:00Z' },
+        },
+        agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+      );
+      expect(created.ok).toBe(true);
+      if (!created.ok) return;
+      const { series_id, session_id } = created.data as { series_id: string; session_id: string };
+
+      // The fire runs INSIDE that task session, so no --id is needed.
+      const resp = await dispatch(
+        { id: 'al-2', command: 'tasks-append-log', args: { msg: 'auto-derived run' } },
+        agentCtx('ag-1', session_id),
+      );
+      expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+      if (!resp.ok) return;
+      expect((resp.data as { series: string }).series).toBe(series_id);
+      expect(fs.readFileSync(logFile('ag-1', series_id), 'utf8')).toContain('auto-derived run');
+    });
+
+    it('requires --msg', async () => {
+      const resp = await dispatch(
+        { id: 'al-3', command: 'tasks-append-log', args: { id: 'my-task-1' } },
+        agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+      );
+      expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+      if (!resp.ok) expect(resp.error.message).toContain('--msg is required');
+    });
+
+    it('errors when there is no --id and the caller is not in a task session', async () => {
+      // chat-1 is a normal chat session, not system:tasks:* → nothing to derive.
+      const resp = await dispatch(
+        { id: 'al-4', command: 'tasks-append-log', args: { msg: 'orphan' } },
+        agentCtx('ag-1', 'chat-1'),
+      );
+      expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+      if (!resp.ok) expect(resp.error.message).toMatch(/--id is required/);
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('formatTasksTable', () => {
+  const now = Date.parse('2026-01-15T09:05:30Z');
+  const rows = [
+    {
+      series_id: 'task-5bbe082a-6298-4699',
+      schedule: '* * * * *',
+      runs: 7,
+      failed_runs: 2,
+      last_run: '2026-01-15T09:04:30Z',
+      next_run: '2026-01-15T09:06:00Z',
+      status: 'pending',
+      log: 'tasks/task-5bbe082a.md',
+      created_at: '2026-01-15T08:05:30Z', // 1h before now
+      prompt: 'You are NanoClaw, wired into the company brain, your job this run is to read it',
+    },
+  ];
+
+  it('renders an aligned table with run history', () => {
+    const lines = formatTasksTable(rows, now).split('\n');
+    expect(lines[0]).toMatch(/SERIES\s+SCHEDULE\s+RUNS\s+FAILED\s+LAST RUN\s+NEXT RUN\s+STATUS\s+AGE\s+PROMPT/);
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('1h'); // AGE column — created 1h ago
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('task-5bbe082a-6298-4699'); // FULL series id — copy-pasteable into `tasks get --id`
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('* * * * *');
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('1m ago'); // 09:04:30 vs 09:05:30
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('in 30s'); // 09:06:00 vs 09:05:30
+    expect(lines[1]).toContain('…'); // prompt truncated
+  });
+
+  it('handles a never-fired series and an empty list', () => {
+    expect(formatTasksTable([], now)).toBe('No tasks.');
+    const oneShot = formatTasksTable(
+      [
+        {
+          series_id: 'task-x',
+          schedule: 'once',
+          runs: 0,
+          last_run: null,
+          next_run: '2026-01-15T09:00:00Z',
+          status: 'pending',
+        },
+      ],
+      now,
+    ).split('\n')[1];
+    expect(oneShot).toContain('once');
+    expect(oneShot).toMatch(/\bdue\b/); // next_run in the past → due
+    expect(oneShot).toContain('-'); // last_run '-' (never fired)
+  });
+});
+
+describe('deep verb help (ncl tasks help create)', () => {
+  it('resolves through the dispatcher fallback and renders the full contract + examples', async () => {
+    // Side-effect import mirrors the CLI server boot: registers <plural>-help.
+    await import('../commands/index.js');
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: 'h1', command: 'tasks-help-create', args: {} }, { caller: 'host' });
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const text = resp.data as string;
+      expect(text).toContain('ncl tasks create');
+      expect(text).toContain('wakeAgent'); // full multi-line script contract present
+      expect(text).toContain('Examples:'); // examples block rendered
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an unknown verb with a pointer back to resource help', async () => {
+    await import('../commands/index.js');
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: 'h2', command: 'tasks-help-frobnicate', args: {} }, { caller: 'host' });
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+  });
+});

src/cli/resources/tasks.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,784 @@
+import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';
+import fs from 'fs';
+
+import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
+import { CronExpressionParser } from 'cron-parser';
+
+import { GROUPS_DIR, TIMEZONE } from '../../config.js';
+import { getAgentGroup } from '../../db/agent-groups.js';
+import {
+  findTaskSessions,
+  getActiveSessions,
+  getSession,
+  isTaskThread,
+  TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID,
+} from '../../db/sessions.js';
+import {
+  cancelAllTasks,
+  cancelTask,
+  deleteTask,
+  insertTaskRow,
+  pauseTask,
+  resumeTask,
+  updateTask,
+  type TaskUpdate,
+} from '../../modules/scheduling/db.js';
+import { inboundDbPath, resolveTaskSession, withInboundDb } from '../../session-manager.js';
+import { parseZonedToUtc } from '../../timezone.js';
+import { registerResource } from '../crud.js';
+import { formatTasksTable } from '../format-tasks.js';
+import type { CallerContext } from '../frame.js';
+
+type TaskStatus = 'pending' | 'paused';
+
+interface TaskRow {
+  row_id: string;
+  series_id: string | null;
+  status: string;
+  process_after: string | null;
+  recurrence: string | null;
+  content: string;
+  timestamp: string;
+  tries: number;
+  seq: number;
+}
+
+interface ScopedSession {
+  id: string;
+  agent_group_id: string;
+}
+
+function str(value: unknown): string | undefined {
+  return typeof value === 'string' && value.length > 0 ? value : undefined;
+}
+
+function bool(value: unknown): boolean {
+  return value === true || value === 'true' || value === '1';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Short, readable, filesystem/thread-safe task id. With a name → `<slug>-<4hex>`
+ * (e.g. "Morning joke" → `morning-joke-a25c`); without → `t-<6hex>`. Always
+ * matches /^[a-z0-9-]+$/ so it is safe as a thread suffix (`system:tasks:<id>`),
+ * a filename (`tasks/<id>.md`), and a copy-pasteable --id.
+ */
+function makeTaskId(name: unknown): string {
+  const hex = (n: number): string => randomUUID().replace(/-/g, '').slice(0, n);
+  const slug =
+    typeof name === 'string'
+      ? name
+          .toLowerCase()
+          .replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-')
+          .replace(/^-+|-+$/g, '')
+          .slice(0, 24)
+          .replace(/-+$/g, '')
+      : '';
+  return slug ? `${slug}-${hex(4)}` : `t-${hex(6)}`;
+}
+
+function parseProcessAfter(value: unknown): string {
+  const raw = str(value);
+  if (!raw) throw new Error('--process-after is required');
+  const date = parseZonedToUtc(raw, TIMEZONE);
+  if (Number.isNaN(date.getTime())) throw new Error(`invalid --process-after: ${raw}`);
+  return date.toISOString();
+}
+
+/**
+ * First-run timestamp for a new task. When a recurrence is given but no
+ * --process-after, derive the first fire from the cron grid (in TIMEZONE) so the
+ * common recurring case is a single flag — `--recurrence "0 9 * * 1-5"` — with no
+ * redundant, easily-stale hand-picked instant. --process-after is still required
+ * for one-shots (no recurrence to derive from) and still wins when supplied.
+ */
+function firstRunIso(value: unknown, recurrence: string | null): string {
+  if (str(value) === undefined && recurrence) {
+    const next = CronExpressionParser.parse(recurrence, { tz: TIMEZONE }).next().toISOString();
+    if (!next) throw new Error(`--recurrence has no upcoming run: ${recurrence}`);
+    return next;
+  }
+  return parseProcessAfter(value);
+}
+
+function normalizeNullableString(value: unknown): string | null | undefined {
+  if (value === undefined) return undefined;
+  if (value === null) return null;
+  if (typeof value !== 'string') return String(value);
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  if (trimmed === '' || trimmed === 'null' || trimmed === 'none') return null;
+  return value;
+}
+
+function validateRecurrence(value: string | null | undefined): void {
+  if (!value) return;
+  try {
+    CronExpressionParser.parse(value, { tz: TIMEZONE });
+  } catch (err) {
+    const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+    throw new Error(`invalid --recurrence: ${msg}`, { cause: err });
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Frequency guard: refuse recurrences more frequent than 4 fires/day unless
+ * the agent explicitly overrides. Frequent tasks burn the user's quota (or
+ * get their account banned) — the sanctioned pattern is a slower cron plus a
+ * pre-task gate script that checks an external condition and only wakes the
+ * agent when something changed (`ncl tasks create --help`). Counted over the
+ * next 24h from now in the instance timezone, so uneven crons are judged by
+ * what they would actually do.
+ */
+const MAX_DAILY_FIRES = 4;
+
+const RECURRENCE_LIMIT_WARNING =
+  'Warning: this task has not been scheduled. Frequent running tasks consume the ' +
+  "user's subscription quota or unnecessarily use tokens and can cause the user's " +
+  'account to be banned. Instead, use a pre-task run script that you write that can ' +
+  'check some kind of external condition, usually via one or more API calls. The ' +
+  'script returns a decision programmatically whether the task needs to be run now ' +
+  'or not. For example, an API call to GitHub to check if there are open PRs, and ' +
+  'only run when there are new open PRs.\n' +
+  'Run `ncl tasks create --help` to get full directions on how to write a script and test it.\n\n' +
+  'Note: if and only if you explicitly need to schedule a task more frequently and ' +
+  "you've verified with the user that they understand and that this is what they " +
+  'want and based on your judgment you agree that this is the right thing to do in ' +
+  'this situation, you can override this with --dangerously-override-recurrence-limit';
+
+function enforceRecurrenceLimit(recurrence: string | null, override: boolean, hasScript: boolean): void {
+  // A gate script IS the sanctioned mitigation the warning steers toward — a
+  // script-gated fire that finds nothing never wakes the agent, so scripted
+  // tasks may run at any cadence without the override.
+  if (!recurrence || override || hasScript) return;
+  const horizon = Date.now() + 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+  const interval = CronExpressionParser.parse(recurrence, { tz: TIMEZONE });
+  let fires = 0;
+  while (fires <= MAX_DAILY_FIRES) {
+    const next = interval.next();
+    if (next.getTime() > horizon) break;
+    fires++;
+  }
+  if (fires > MAX_DAILY_FIRES) throw new Error(RECURRENCE_LIMIT_WARNING);
+}
+
+function statusFilter(args: Record<string, unknown>): TaskStatus | undefined {
+  const status = str(args.status);
+  if (!status) return undefined;
+  if (status !== 'pending' && status !== 'paused') {
+    throw new Error('--status must be pending or paused');
+  }
+  return status;
+}
+
+function groupArg(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext): string | undefined {
+  if (ctx.caller === 'agent') return ctx.agentGroupId;
+  return str(args.group) ?? str(args.agent_group_id);
+}
+
+function ownSession(sessionId: string, ctx: CallerContext): ScopedSession {
+  const session = getSession(sessionId);
+  if (!session) throw new Error(`session not found: ${sessionId}`);
+  if (ctx.caller === 'agent' && session.agent_group_id !== ctx.agentGroupId) {
+    throw new Error(`session not found: ${sessionId}`);
+  }
+  return { id: session.id, agent_group_id: session.agent_group_id };
+}
+
+function selectedSessions(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext): ScopedSession[] {
+  const sessionId = str(args.session);
+  if (sessionId) return [ownSession(sessionId, ctx)];
+
+  const group = groupArg(args, ctx);
+  if (group) {
+    // One session per live task series — the loops below already fan out across them.
+    return findTaskSessions(group).map((s) => ({ id: s.id, agent_group_id: s.agent_group_id }));
+  }
+
+  if (ctx.caller === 'agent') return [];
+  return getActiveSessions().map((s) => ({ id: s.id, agent_group_id: s.agent_group_id }));
+}
+
+function withInbound<T>(session: ScopedSession, fn: (db: Database.Database) => T): T | undefined {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(inboundDbPath(session.agent_group_id, session.id))) return undefined;
+  return withInboundDb(session.agent_group_id, session.id, fn);
+}
+
+function parseContent(raw: string): { prompt: string; script: string | null; originSessionId: string | null } {
+  try {
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    return {
+      prompt: typeof parsed.prompt === 'string' ? parsed.prompt : '',
+      script: typeof parsed.script === 'string' ? parsed.script : null,
+      originSessionId: typeof parsed.originSessionId === 'string' ? parsed.originSessionId : null,
+    };
+  } catch {
+    // LEGACY-COMPAT(v1-tasks): plain-string content from rows that predate the
+    // JSON envelope. Removable once no pre-v2 session DBs remain in the wild.
+    return { prompt: raw, script: null, originSessionId: null };
+  }
+}
+
+function toOutput(session: ScopedSession, row: TaskRow) {
+  const content = parseContent(row.content);
+  return {
+    agent_group_id: session.agent_group_id,
+    session_id: session.id,
+    series_id: row.series_id ?? row.row_id,
+    row_id: row.row_id,
+    status: row.status,
+    process_after: row.process_after,
+    recurrence: row.recurrence,
+    prompt: content.prompt.length > 120 ? content.prompt.slice(0, 117) + '...' : content.prompt,
+    has_script: content.script ? 1 : 0,
+    origin_session_id: content.originSessionId, // which session created the task (null for CLI-created)
+    created_at: row.timestamp,
+    tries: row.tries,
+  };
+}
+
+function selectLiveTasks(db: Database.Database, status?: TaskStatus): TaskRow[] {
+  const statusSql = status ? 'status = ?' : "status IN ('pending', 'paused')";
+  return db
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT id AS row_id, series_id, status, process_after, recurrence, content, timestamp, tries, MAX(seq) AS seq
+         FROM messages_in
+        WHERE kind = 'task'
+          AND ${statusSql}
+        GROUP BY series_id
+        ORDER BY datetime(process_after) ASC, seq ASC`,
+    )
+    .all(...(status ? [status] : [])) as TaskRow[];
+}
+
+function selectTask(db: Database.Database, id: string): TaskRow | undefined {
+  return db
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT id AS row_id, series_id, status, process_after, recurrence, content, timestamp, tries, seq
+         FROM messages_in
+        WHERE kind = 'task'
+          AND (id = ? OR series_id = ?)
+        ORDER BY CASE WHEN status IN ('pending', 'paused') THEN 0 ELSE 1 END, seq DESC
+        LIMIT 1`,
+    )
+    .get(id, id) as TaskRow | undefined;
+}
+
+function taskId(args: Record<string, unknown>): string {
+  const id = str(args.id);
+  if (!id) throw new Error('task series id is required');
+  return id;
+}
+
+function createTask(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext) {
+  const group = groupArg(args, ctx);
+  if (!group) throw new Error('--group is required');
+  const prompt = str(args.prompt);
+  if (!prompt) throw new Error('--prompt is required');
+  const recurrence = normalizeNullableString(args.recurrence) ?? null;
+  validateRecurrence(recurrence);
+  const script = normalizeNullableString(args.script) ?? null;
+  enforceRecurrenceLimit(recurrence, bool(args.dangerously_override_recurrence_limit), script != null);
+  const processAfter = firstRunIso(args.process_after, recurrence);
+  const id = makeTaskId(args.name);
+  const originSessionId = ctx.caller === 'agent' ? ctx.sessionId : null;
+  // Each series runs in its own isolated session; point the fire at its own log.
+  const { session } = resolveTaskSession(group, id);
+  const promptWithLog =
+    `${prompt}\n\n` +
+    `[A task serves the user two separate ways — do whichever the task above asks for, and ALWAYS the run log:\n` +
+    `• MESSAGE (only if asked): if the task says to report/notify the user, send your result with an EXPLICIT destination — <message to="name">…</message> or send_message({ to: "name", … }). This run has no chat attached: an unaddressed reply is DISCARDED, so the explicit send is the ONLY thing the user receives.\n` +
+    `• RUN LOG (ALWAYS — even if you sent no message and did nothing else this run): after any sends, end the run with:\n` +
+    `    ncl tasks append-log --msg "<what you did, and why it mattered>"\n` +
+    `  Write it like a work-log entry a human keeps — concrete: what you did and WHY (a no-op run still gets a line saying why nothing was needed). If you wrote or modified files this run, name them in --msg. Not a greeting, not a copy of the message you sent. The host stamps the UTC time (do NOT add one), do NOT edit tasks/${id}.md by hand, and this NEVER goes to the user.\n` +
+    `Need context from past runs? Read tasks/${id}.md first.]`;
+
+  const created = withInbound(session, (db) => {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
+      id,
+      seriesId: id,
+      processAfter,
+      recurrence,
+      content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: promptWithLog, script, originSessionId }),
+    });
+    return selectTask(db, id);
+  });
+  if (!created) throw new Error('task system session inbound.db not found');
+  return toOutput(session, created);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Append one host-timestamped line to a task's run log
+ * (`<GROUPS_DIR>/<folder>/tasks/<series>.md`). This is NOT a delivery — it writes
+ * nothing to messages_out; it just records what happened so the agent (and human)
+ * can see when and why each fire ran. Inside a task fire the series is derived from
+ * the caller's own task session, so the agent supplies only --msg.
+ */
+function appendTaskLog(
+  args: Record<string, unknown>,
+  ctx: CallerContext,
+): { series: string; timestamp: string; path: string; ok: true } {
+  const msg = str(args.msg);
+  if (!msg) throw new Error('--msg is required');
+
+  let series = str(args.id);
+  let group = groupArg(args, ctx);
+  if (!series && ctx.caller === 'agent' && ctx.sessionId) {
+    const sess = getSession(ctx.sessionId);
+    if (sess && sess.thread_id && isTaskThread(sess.thread_id)) {
+      series = sess.thread_id.slice(`${TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID}:`.length);
+      group ??= sess.agent_group_id;
+    }
+  }
+  if (!series) throw new Error('--id is required (no task session to derive it from)');
+  // Charset guard is the security boundary here: blocks path traversal and keeps
+  // the id safe as a filename / thread suffix. Group scope is already enforced by
+  // groupArg (a cli_scope=group caller can only ever resolve its own folder), so a
+  // foreign id at worst writes a stray log under the caller's OWN folder — no leak.
+  if (!/^[a-z0-9-]+$/.test(series)) throw new Error(`invalid task id: ${series}`);
+  if (!group) throw new Error('could not resolve the agent group');
+
+  const ag = getAgentGroup(group);
+  if (!ag) throw new Error(`agent group not found: ${group}`);
+
+  const timestamp = new Date().toISOString().replace(/\.\d{3}Z$/, 'Z');
+  const dir = `${GROUPS_DIR}/${ag.folder}/tasks`;
+  const file = `${dir}/${series}.md`;
+  fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  fs.appendFileSync(file, `${timestamp} — ${msg}\n`);
+  return { series, timestamp, path: file, ok: true };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Run history for one task series, aggregated over its occurrence rows: number
+ * of successful fires, the last fire time, and failed fires (a row reaches
+ * `failed` after MAX_TRIES on a stuck claim). Cancelled occurrences are
+ * `cancelled`, not `completed`, so they never inflate the run count.
+ */
+function seriesStats(
+  db: Database.Database,
+  seriesKey: string,
+): { runs: number; last_run: string | null; failed_runs: number } {
+  return db
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT
+         COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE status = 'completed') AS runs,
+         MAX(process_after) FILTER (WHERE status = 'completed') AS last_run,
+         COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE status = 'failed') AS failed_runs
+       FROM messages_in
+      WHERE kind = 'task' AND (id = ? OR series_id = ?)`,
+    )
+    .get(seriesKey, seriesKey) as { runs: number; last_run: string | null; failed_runs: number };
+}
+
+/** Last ~10 lines of a series' run log (`tasks/<series>.md`), newest last. */
+function tailRunLog(agentGroupId: string, seriesKey: string, lines = 10): string[] {
+  const ag = getAgentGroup(agentGroupId);
+  if (!ag) return [];
+  const file = `${GROUPS_DIR}/${ag.folder}/tasks/${seriesKey}.md`;
+  if (!fs.existsSync(file)) return [];
+  return fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8').trimEnd().split('\n').filter(Boolean).slice(-lines);
+}
+
+/**
+ * A task series is CronJob-like: the live (pending/paused) row is the next run,
+ * and the `completed` rows are its run history. Enrich each listed series with
+ * that history — run count, failures, last fire, next fire, schedule, and a
+ * pointer to the agent's own run log — so `tasks list` reads as a compact
+ * run-history table.
+ */
+function enrichListRow(db: Database.Database, base: ReturnType<typeof toOutput>) {
+  const seriesKey = base.series_id;
+  const stats = seriesStats(db, seriesKey);
+  return {
+    ...base,
+    schedule: base.recurrence ?? 'once',
+    runs: stats.runs,
+    failed_runs: stats.failed_runs,
+    last_run: stats.last_run,
+    next_run: base.process_after,
+    log: `tasks/${seriesKey}.md`,
+  };
+}
+
+function listTasks(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext) {
+  const status = statusFilter(args);
+  const rows = [];
+  for (const session of selectedSessions(args, ctx)) {
+    const sessionRows = withInbound(session, (db) =>
+      selectLiveTasks(db, status).map((row) => enrichListRow(db, toOutput(session, row))),
+    );
+    if (sessionRows) rows.push(...sessionRows);
+  }
+  return rows;
+}
+
+function getTask(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext) {
+  const id = taskId(args);
+  for (const session of selectedSessions(args, ctx)) {
+    const found = withInbound(session, (db) => {
+      const row = selectTask(db, id);
+      if (!row) return undefined;
+      const seriesKey = row.series_id ?? row.row_id;
+      const stats = seriesStats(db, seriesKey);
+      const content = parseContent(row.content);
+      return {
+        ...toOutput(session, row),
+        prompt: content.prompt,
+        script: content.script,
+        origin_session_id: content.originSessionId,
+        completed_runs: stats.runs,
+        failed_runs: stats.failed_runs,
+        recent_log: tailRunLog(session.agent_group_id, seriesKey),
+      };
+    });
+    if (found) return found;
+  }
+  throw new Error(`task not found: ${id}`);
+}
+
+function mutateTask(
+  args: Record<string, unknown>,
+  ctx: CallerContext,
+  fn: (db: Database.Database, id: string) => number,
+) {
+  const id = taskId(args);
+  let touched = 0;
+  for (const session of selectedSessions(args, ctx)) {
+    touched += withInbound(session, (db) => fn(db, id)) ?? 0;
+  }
+  if (touched === 0) throw new Error(`no live task matched: ${id}`);
+  return { series_id: id, touched };
+}
+
+function updateTaskCommand(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext) {
+  const id = taskId(args);
+  const update: TaskUpdate = {};
+  if (typeof args.prompt === 'string') update.prompt = args.prompt;
+  if (args.process_after !== undefined) update.processAfter = parseProcessAfter(args.process_after);
+  const recurrence = normalizeNullableString(args.recurrence);
+  const script = normalizeNullableString(args.script);
+  if (recurrence !== undefined) {
+    validateRecurrence(recurrence);
+    // Effective script AFTER this update: the new value when provided
+    // (including an explicit clear), else whatever the task already has.
+    let scriptAfter: string | null = script !== undefined ? script : null;
+    if (script === undefined) {
+      for (const session of selectedSessions(args, ctx)) {
+        const row = withInbound(session, (db) => selectTask(db, id));
+        if (row) {
+          scriptAfter = parseContent(row.content).script;
+          break;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    enforceRecurrenceLimit(recurrence, bool(args.dangerously_override_recurrence_limit), scriptAfter != null);
+    update.recurrence = recurrence;
+  }
+  if (script !== undefined) update.script = script;
+  const fields = Object.keys(update);
+  if (fields.length === 0) throw new Error('nothing to update');
+
+  let touched = 0;
+  for (const session of selectedSessions(args, ctx)) {
+    touched += withInbound(session, (db) => updateTask(db, id, update)) ?? 0;
+  }
+  if (touched === 0) throw new Error(`no live task matched: ${id}`);
+  return { series_id: id, touched, fields };
+}
+
+function cancelTaskCommand(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext) {
+  if (!bool(args.all)) {
+    return mutateTask(args, ctx, cancelTask);
+  }
+
+  let touched = 0;
+  for (const session of selectedSessions(args, ctx)) {
+    touched += withInbound(session, cancelAllTasks) ?? 0;
+  }
+  return { cancelled: touched };
+}
+
+/**
+ * `ncl tasks run <id>` — fire a task on demand without disturbing its schedule.
+ * Inserts a fresh pending occurrence (same series, content, no recurrence) due
+ * now, which the next sweep delivers through the normal fire path. Unlike
+ * `update --process-after now`, it neither consumes a one-shot nor force-advances
+ * a recurring series' armed occurrence, so it is safe for testing a task.
+ */
+function runTaskCommand(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: CallerContext) {
+  const id = taskId(args);
+  for (const session of selectedSessions(args, ctx)) {
+    const fired = withInbound(session, (db) => {
+      const row = selectTask(db, id);
+      if (!row) return undefined;
+      const seriesKey = row.series_id ?? row.row_id;
+      const rowId = makeTaskId(`${seriesKey}-run`);
+      // recurrence=NULL is load-bearing: a run-now row must not be re-armed by
+      // handleRecurrence into a phantom series.
+      insertTaskRow(db, {
+        id: rowId,
+        seriesId: seriesKey,
+        processAfter: new Date().toISOString(),
+        recurrence: null,
+        content: row.content,
+      });
+      return { series_id: seriesKey, row_id: rowId, status: 'pending' };
+    });
+    if (fired) return fired;
+  }
+  throw new Error(`task not found: ${id}`);
+}
+
+registerResource({
+  name: 'task',
+  plural: 'tasks',
+  table: 'messages_in',
+  description:
+    'Scheduled task — prompt plus run time. Tasks run from the agent group system session and the agent chooses delivery destination at fire time.',
+  idColumn: 'series_id',
+  scopeField: 'agent_group_id',
+  columns: [
+    { name: 'series_id', type: 'string', description: 'Stable task handle.', generated: true },
+    { name: 'agent_group_id', type: 'string', description: 'Agent group that owns the task.' },
+    { name: 'session_id', type: 'string', description: 'System session that runs the task.' },
+    { name: 'status', type: 'string', description: 'Live state.', enum: ['pending', 'paused'] },
+    {
+      name: 'process_after',
+      type: 'string',
+      // Not flagged required: with --recurrence the first run is derived from the
+      // cron grid (firstRunIso). Required only for one-shots, enforced in the
+      // create handler — so the generic col.required validator must stay off here.
+      description:
+        'Next run time (ISO 8601 or naive local). Required for one-shots; with --recurrence the first run is derived from the cron grid.',
+      updatable: true,
+    },
+    { name: 'recurrence', type: 'string', description: 'Optional cron expression.', updatable: true },
+    { name: 'prompt', type: 'string', description: 'Task prompt.', required: true, updatable: true },
+    { name: 'script', type: 'string', description: 'Optional pre-task bash script.', updatable: true },
+  ],
+  operations: {},
+  customOperations: {
+    list: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'List live tasks with per-series run history (schedule, runs, failures, next fire).',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'status', type: 'string', description: 'Filter by live state.', enum: ['pending', 'paused'] },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+        {
+          name: 'all',
+          type: 'boolean',
+          description: 'List across all groups (host default when no --group; accepted for explicitness).',
+        },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => listTasks(args, ctx),
+      // Server-rendered run-history table (frame `human` field) — the container
+      // agent gets the same legible view as the host CLI without a Bun-side
+      // formatter copy.
+      formatHuman: (rows) => formatTasksTable(rows as Parameters<typeof formatTasksTable>[0]),
+    },
+    get: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'Get a task by series id.',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'id', type: 'string', description: 'Task series id.', required: true },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => getTask(args, ctx),
+    },
+    create: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description:
+        `Create a scheduled task (recurring or one-shot) in the agent group system session.\n\n` +
+        `Requires --prompt plus EITHER --recurrence (recurring; first run derived from the cron grid) OR --process-after (one-shot, ISO 8601 or naive local). Always pass --name for a readable id.\n\n` +
+        `--script contract (pre-task gate, runs BEFORE the agent wakes):\n` +
+        `  bash, 30s timeout, 1MB output cap. Its LAST stdout line must be JSON:\n` +
+        `    {"wakeAgent": <bool>, "data": {...}}\n` +
+        `  wakeAgent=false marks the run handled without waking the agent (zero tokens);\n` +
+        `  wakeAgent=true wakes the agent with data attached to the prompt.\n` +
+        `  DO: print the JSON as the very last line, exit 0, keep data small (a summary, not a dump).\n` +
+        `  DON'T: print anything after the JSON, prompt for input, or rely on state from previous runs.\n` +
+        `  Always test with bash -c '<script>' before scheduling.\n` +
+        `  Persist state between fires under the group workspace (e.g. a last-seen id file).\n` +
+        `  Use good judgement on whether to share with the user the script (only if they are technical), a description of the script condition, or whether there's no need.\n\n` +
+        `Frequency limit: recurrences more frequent than ${MAX_DAILY_FIRES} fires/day are refused unless the task\n` +
+        `carries a --script gate (the script decides whether each fire needs you — a gated fire that\n` +
+        `finds nothing costs zero tokens) or you pass --dangerously-override-recurrence-limit after\n` +
+        `the user explicitly confirmed they want an ungated frequent task.\n\n` +
+        `Failure backoff: a script that ERRORS repeatedly backs the series off (2,4,8,…60 min between fires; each errored fire counts as a failed run); after 8 consecutive failures the series is auto-paused with a note in its run log — fix the script, then \`ncl tasks resume <id>\`. A deliberate wakeAgent=false is a normal run and never backs off. \`ncl tasks get <id>\` shows failed_runs and the run log.`,
+      args: [
+        {
+          name: 'name',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Short descriptive name → readable task id (<slug>-<hex>). Without it, ids are t-<hex>.',
+        },
+        { name: 'prompt', type: 'string', description: 'Task prompt the agent wakes to.', required: true },
+        {
+          name: 'recurrence',
+          type: 'string',
+          description:
+            'Cron expression (instance TZ). First run derives from the cron grid when --process-after is omitted.',
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'dangerously_override_recurrence_limit',
+          type: 'boolean',
+          description:
+            'Schedule more than 4 fires/day anyway. Only after the user explicitly confirmed they understand the quota/token cost and you agree it is right.',
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'process_after',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'First/next run time (ISO 8601 or naive local). Required for one-shots.',
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'script',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Pre-task gate script (bash) — see the --script contract above.',
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+      ],
+      examples: [
+        `# Recurring — --recurrence alone is enough; the first run comes off the cron grid:\nncl tasks create --name "sales briefing" --prompt "Send the weekday sales briefing" --recurrence "0 9 * * 1-5"`,
+        `# One-shot — --process-after required (UTC, offset, or naive-local in the instance TZ):\nncl tasks create --name "ping" --prompt "Remind me to call Dana" --process-after "tomorrow 18:00"`,
+        `# Monitor — script gates the run; the agent wakes only when something matters:\nncl tasks create --name "alert watch" --recurrence "*/15 * * * *" \\\n  --prompt "Investigate the alerts in the script data and notify me if serious" \\\n  --script 'c=$(curl -sf https://example.com/api/alerts | jq length) || exit 0\necho "{\\"wakeAgent\\": $([ "$c" -gt 0 ] && echo true || echo false), \\"data\\": {\\"alerts\\": $c}}"'`,
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => createTask(args, ctx),
+    },
+    'append-log': {
+      access: 'open',
+      description:
+        'Append a one-line run summary to a task run log (tasks/<id>.md).\n\nThe host stamps the UTC timestamp; you supply --msg. This is a LOG ENTRY, not a message — it sends nothing to anyone. Inside a task fire --id is auto-derived from your session. If you wrote or modified files during the run, name them in --msg.',
+      examples: [
+        `# Inside a task fire (--id auto-derived) — the run's work-log line:\nncl tasks append-log --msg "posted the daily digest to slack; one feed returned 403, skipped"`,
+      ],
+      args: [
+        {
+          name: 'msg',
+          type: 'string',
+          description:
+            'Your work-log entry: what you did and why it mattered (like a human work log). The host prepends the UTC timestamp; this is logged, never sent to the user.',
+          required: true,
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'id',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Task series id. Auto-derived when called from inside a task fire; required otherwise.',
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => appendTaskLog(args, ctx),
+    },
+    update: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'Update a live task by series id.',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'id', type: 'string', description: 'Task series id.', required: true },
+        { name: 'prompt', type: 'string', description: 'Replace the task prompt.' },
+        { name: 'process_after', type: 'string', description: 'New next-run time (ISO 8601 or naive local).' },
+        { name: 'recurrence', type: 'string', description: 'New cron expression; "null"/"none" clears it (one-shot).' },
+        {
+          name: 'dangerously_override_recurrence_limit',
+          type: 'boolean',
+          description:
+            'Schedule more than 4 fires/day anyway. Only after the user explicitly confirmed they understand the quota/token cost and you agree it is right.',
+        },
+        { name: 'script', type: 'string', description: 'New pre-task script; "null"/"none" removes it.' },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => updateTaskCommand(args, ctx),
+    },
+    cancel: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'Cancel a live task by series id, or use --all as a kill switch.',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'id', type: 'string', description: 'Task series id (omit with --all).' },
+        { name: 'all', type: 'boolean', description: 'Cancel every live task in scope — kill switch.' },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => cancelTaskCommand(args, ctx),
+    },
+    run: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description:
+        'Fire a task now without changing its schedule (queues an extra run due immediately). Safe for testing — unlike update --process-after now, it neither consumes a one-shot nor advances a recurring series.',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'id', type: 'string', description: 'Task series id.', required: true },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => runTaskCommand(args, ctx),
+    },
+    pause: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'Pause a pending task by series id.',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'id', type: 'string', description: 'Task series id.', required: true },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => mutateTask(args, ctx, pauseTask),
+    },
+    resume: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'Resume a paused task by series id.',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'id', type: 'string', description: 'Task series id.', required: true },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => mutateTask(args, ctx, resumeTask),
+    },
+    delete: {
+      access: 'open',
+      description: 'Hard-delete a task series and its history.',
+      args: [
+        { name: 'id', type: 'string', description: 'Task series id.', required: true },
+        {
+          name: 'group',
+          type: 'string',
+          description: 'Agent group id (host callers; auto-filled to your own group inside a container).',
+        },
+        { name: 'session', type: 'string', description: 'Limit to one task session id.' },
+      ],
+      handler: async (args, ctx) => mutateTask(args, ctx, deleteTask),
+    },
+  },
+});

src/db/session-db.test.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 import { describe, it, expect, afterEach } from 'vitest';
 
-import { getInboundSourceSessionId, migrateMessagesInTable } from './session-db.js';
+import { ensureSchema, getInboundSourceSessionId, migrateMessagesInTable, syncProcessingAcks } from './session-db.js';
 
 const TEST_DIR = '/tmp/nanoclaw-session-db-test';
 const DB_PATH = path.join(TEST_DIR, 'inbound.db');
@@ -92,3 +92,66 @@ describe('migrateMessagesInTable', () => {
     db.close();
   });
 });
+
+describe('syncProcessingAcks — script-skip counter', () => {
+  function freshPair() {
+    if (fs.existsSync(TEST_DIR)) fs.rmSync(TEST_DIR, { recursive: true });
+    fs.mkdirSync(TEST_DIR, { recursive: true });
+    ensureSchema(DB_PATH, 'inbound');
+    const outPath = path.join(TEST_DIR, 'outbound.db');
+    ensureSchema(outPath, 'outbound');
+    return { inDb: new Database(DB_PATH), outDb: new Database(outPath) };
+  }
+
+  function seedTask(inDb: InstanceType<typeof Database>, id: string, content: Record<string, unknown>) {
+    inDb
+      .prepare(
+        `INSERT INTO messages_in (id, seq, timestamp, status, tries, kind, content, series_id)
+         VALUES (?, 2, datetime('now'), 'processing', 0, 'task', ?, ?)`,
+      )
+      .run(id, JSON.stringify(content), id);
+  }
+
+  function ack(outDb: InstanceType<typeof Database>, id: string, status: string) {
+    outDb
+      .prepare(
+        "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO processing_ack (message_id, status, status_changed) VALUES (?, ?, datetime('now'))",
+      )
+      .run(id, status);
+  }
+
+  const status = (inDb: InstanceType<typeof Database>, id: string) =>
+    (inDb.prepare('SELECT status FROM messages_in WHERE id = ?').get(id) as { status: string }).status;
+
+  it('script-skip:error ack lands the row as a FAILED run (streak-derivable history)', () => {
+    const { inDb, outDb } = freshPair();
+    seedTask(inDb, 't1', { prompt: 'p', script: 'x' });
+    ack(outDb, 't1', 'script-skip:error');
+
+    syncProcessingAcks(inDb, outDb);
+
+    expect(status(inDb, 't1')).toBe('failed');
+  });
+
+  it('a settled row is terminal — a lingering ack cannot flip failed back to completed', () => {
+    const { inDb, outDb } = freshPair();
+    seedTask(inDb, 't1', { prompt: 'p', script: 'x' });
+    ack(outDb, 't1', 'script-skip:error');
+    syncProcessingAcks(inDb, outDb);
+
+    ack(outDb, 't1', 'completed');
+    syncProcessingAcks(inDb, outDb);
+
+    expect(status(inDb, 't1')).toBe('failed');
+  });
+
+  it('plain completed ack completes the row as before', () => {
+    const { inDb, outDb } = freshPair();
+    seedTask(inDb, 't1', { prompt: 'p', script: 'x' });
+    ack(outDb, 't1', 'completed');
+
+    syncProcessingAcks(inDb, outDb);
+
+    expect(status(inDb, 't1')).toBe('completed');
+  });
+});

src/db/session-db.ts

@@ -168,15 +168,25 @@ export function getMessageForRetry(
 
 export function syncProcessingAcks(inDb: Database.Database, outDb: Database.Database): void {
   const completed = outDb
-    .prepare("SELECT message_id FROM processing_ack WHERE status IN ('completed', 'failed')")
-    .all() as Array<{ message_id: string }>;
+    .prepare(
+      "SELECT message_id, status FROM processing_ack WHERE status IN ('completed', 'failed', 'script-skip:error')",
+    )
+    .all() as Array<{ message_id: string; status: string }>;
 
   if (completed.length === 0) return;
 
-  const updateStmt = inDb.prepare("UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'completed' WHERE id = ? AND status != 'completed'");
+  // `script-skip:error` (pre-task script crashed) lands as a FAILED run —
+  // semantically true, and it lets recurrence derive the trailing failed
+  // streak from the occurrence rows themselves (no stored counter).
+  const completeStmt = inDb.prepare(
+    "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'completed' WHERE id = ? AND status NOT IN ('completed', 'failed')",
+  );
+  const failStmt = inDb.prepare(
+    "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'failed' WHERE id = ? AND status NOT IN ('completed', 'failed')",
+  );
   inDb.transaction(() => {
-    for (const { message_id } of completed) {
-      updateStmt.run(message_id);
+    for (const { message_id, status } of completed) {
+      (status === 'script-skip:error' ? failStmt : completeStmt).run(message_id);
     }
   })();
 }
@@ -294,9 +304,11 @@ export function migrateDeliveredTable(db: Database.Database): void {
   }
 }
 
-// Adds columns added to messages_in after the initial v2 schema to
-// pre-existing session DBs. No-op on fresh installs where the columns are
-// in the baseline schema. Backfills existing rows so invariants hold.
+// LEGACY-COMPAT(v1-tasks): adds columns added to messages_in after the initial
+// v2 schema to pre-existing session DBs — this lazy, on-open migration IS the
+// upgrade path for old installs (there is no central migration for session
+// DBs). No-op on fresh installs where the columns are in the baseline schema.
+// Backfills existing rows so invariants hold (series_id = id).
 export function migrateMessagesInTable(db: Database.Database): void {
   const cols = new Set(
     (db.prepare("PRAGMA table_info('messages_in')").all() as Array<{ name: string }>).map((c) => c.name),

src/db/sessions.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import { getDb, hasTable } from './connection.js';
 
 // ── Sessions ──
 
+export const TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID = 'system:tasks';
+
 export function createSession(session: Session): void {
   getDb()
     .prepare(
@@ -55,7 +57,14 @@ export function findSessionForAgent(
 /** Find an active session scoped to an agent group (ignoring messaging group). */
 export function findSessionByAgentGroup(agentGroupId: string): Session | undefined {
   return getDb()
-    .prepare("SELECT * FROM sessions WHERE agent_group_id = ? AND status = 'active' ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 1")
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT * FROM sessions
+       WHERE agent_group_id = ?
+         AND status = 'active'
+         AND NOT (messaging_group_id IS NULL AND thread_id IS NOT NULL AND thread_id LIKE 'system:%')
+       ORDER BY created_at DESC
+       LIMIT 1`,
+    )
     .get(agentGroupId) as Session | undefined;
 }
 
@@ -63,6 +72,44 @@ export function getSessionsByAgentGroup(agentGroupId: string): Session[] {
   return getDb().prepare('SELECT * FROM sessions WHERE agent_group_id = ?').all(agentGroupId) as Session[];
 }
 
+export function findSystemSession(agentGroupId: string, threadId: string): Session | undefined {
+  return getDb()
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT * FROM sessions
+       WHERE agent_group_id = ?
+         AND messaging_group_id IS NULL
+         AND thread_id = ?
+         AND status = 'active'
+       ORDER BY created_at DESC
+       LIMIT 1`,
+    )
+    .get(agentGroupId, threadId) as Session | undefined;
+}
+
+/** Per-task session thread id for a scheduled task series. */
+export function taskThreadId(seriesId: string): string {
+  return `${TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID}:${seriesId}`;
+}
+
+/** True for any task session thread — a per-series one or the legacy shared one. */
+export function isTaskThread(threadId: string | null): boolean {
+  return threadId === TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID || (threadId?.startsWith(`${TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID}:`) ?? false);
+}
+
+/** All active task sessions for a group — one per live series, plus any legacy shared one. */
+export function findTaskSessions(agentGroupId: string): Session[] {
+  return getDb()
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT * FROM sessions
+       WHERE agent_group_id = ?
+         AND messaging_group_id IS NULL
+         AND status = 'active'
+         AND (thread_id = ? OR thread_id LIKE ?)
+       ORDER BY created_at DESC`,
+    )
+    .all(agentGroupId, TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID, `${TASKS_SYSTEM_THREAD_ID}:%`) as Session[];
+}
+
 export function getActiveSessions(): Session[] {
   return getDb().prepare("SELECT * FROM sessions WHERE status = 'active'").all() as Session[];
 }

src/delivery.ts

@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ async function deliverMessage(
 
   const content = JSON.parse(msg.content);
 
-  // System actions — handle internally (schedule_task, cancel_task, etc.)
+  // System actions — handle internally (cli_request, etc.)
   if (msg.kind === 'system') {
     await handleSystemAction(content, session, inDb);
     return;

src/host-sweep.test.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   _resetStuckProcessingRowsForTesting,
   decideStuckAction,
   parseSqliteUtc,
+  shouldCloseTaskSession,
 } from './host-sweep.js';
 import type { Session } from './types.js';
 
@@ -334,3 +335,22 @@ describe('parseSqliteUtc', () => {
     expect(parseSqliteUtc(bare)).toBe(Date.parse(bare + 'Z'));
   });
 });
+
+describe('shouldCloseTaskSession', () => {
+  it('closes a spent per-task session (no live tasks, no container)', () => {
+    expect(shouldCloseTaskSession('system:tasks:task-1', false, 0)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps it while a task is still live (recurring re-armed, or pending/paused)', () => {
+    expect(shouldCloseTaskSession('system:tasks:task-1', false, 1)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps it while its container is running (mid-fire)', () => {
+    expect(shouldCloseTaskSession('system:tasks:task-1', true, 0)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('never touches non-task sessions', () => {
+    expect(shouldCloseTaskSession('telegram:12345', false, 0)).toBe(false);
+    expect(shouldCloseTaskSession(null, false, 0)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});

src/host-sweep.ts

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
 import fs from 'fs';
 
 import { ensureEgressNetwork } from './egress-lockdown.js';
-import { getActiveSessions } from './db/sessions.js';
+import { getActiveSessions, isTaskThread, updateSession } from './db/sessions.js';
 import { getAgentGroup } from './db/agent-groups.js';
 import {
   countDueMessages,
@@ -167,6 +167,15 @@ async function sweep(): Promise<void> {
   setTimeout(sweep, SWEEP_INTERVAL_MS);
 }
 
+/** A per-task session with no live tasks and no running container is spent → close it. */
+export function shouldCloseTaskSession(
+  threadId: string | null,
+  containerRunning: boolean,
+  liveTaskCount: number,
+): boolean {
+  return isTaskThread(threadId) && !containerRunning && liveTaskCount === 0;
+}
+
 async function sweepSession(session: Session): Promise<void> {
   const agentGroup = getAgentGroup(session.agent_group_id);
   if (!agentGroup) return;
@@ -234,6 +243,24 @@ async function sweepSession(session: Session): Promise<void> {
     const { handleRecurrence } = await import('./modules/scheduling/recurrence.js');
     await handleRecurrence(inDb, session);
     // MODULE-HOOK:scheduling-recurrence:end
+
+    // 6. GC spent task sessions. An isolated per-task session with no live task
+    // rows left (one-shot fired, or all cancelled/deleted) and no container
+    // running is dead — close it so it stops being swept and listed. Runs after
+    // recurrence so a just-fired recurring series has already re-armed its next
+    // pending row and is never collected. The per-task log file in the workspace
+    // is the durable history and survives the close.
+    if (isTaskThread(session.thread_id)) {
+      const liveTasks = (
+        inDb
+          .prepare("SELECT COUNT(*) AS c FROM messages_in WHERE kind = 'task' AND status IN ('pending', 'paused')")
+          .get() as { c: number }
+      ).c;
+      if (shouldCloseTaskSession(session.thread_id, isContainerRunning(session.id), liveTasks)) {
+        updateSession(session.id, { status: 'closed' });
+        log.info('Closed spent task session', { sessionId: session.id, threadId: session.thread_id });
+      }
+    }
   } finally {
     inDb.close();
     outDb?.close();

src/modules/index.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 // registers its handlers at import time.
 import './approvals/index.js';
 import './interactive/index.js';
-import './scheduling/index.js';
 import './permissions/index.js';
 import './agent-to-agent/index.js';
 import './self-mod/index.js';

src/modules/scheduling/actions.ts

@@ -1,113 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Delivery action handlers for scheduling.
- *
- * The container can't write to inbound.db (host-owned). When the agent calls
- * schedule_task / cancel_task / etc. via MCP, the container writes a
- * `kind='system'` outbound message with an `action` field. The delivery path
- * reaches into this module via the delivery-action registry and we apply the
- * change to inbound.db here.
- */
-import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
-
-import { wakeContainer } from '../../container-runner.js';
-import { getSession } from '../../db/sessions.js';
-import { log } from '../../log.js';
-import { writeSessionMessage } from '../../session-manager.js';
-import type { Session } from '../../types.js';
-import { cancelTask, insertTask, pauseTask, resumeTask, updateTask, type TaskUpdate } from './db.js';
-
-export async function handleScheduleTask(
-  content: Record<string, unknown>,
-  _session: Session,
-  inDb: Database.Database,
-): Promise<void> {
-  const taskId = content.taskId as string;
-  const prompt = content.prompt as string;
-  const script = content.script as string | null;
-  const processAfter = content.processAfter as string;
-  const recurrence = (content.recurrence as string) || null;
-
-  insertTask(inDb, {
-    id: taskId,
-    processAfter,
-    recurrence,
-    platformId: (content.platformId as string) ?? null,
-    channelType: (content.channelType as string) ?? null,
-    threadId: (content.threadId as string) ?? null,
-    content: JSON.stringify({ prompt, script }),
-  });
-  log.info('Scheduled task created', { taskId, processAfter, recurrence });
-}
-
-export async function handleCancelTask(
-  content: Record<string, unknown>,
-  _session: Session,
-  inDb: Database.Database,
-): Promise<void> {
-  const taskId = content.taskId as string;
-  cancelTask(inDb, taskId);
-  log.info('Task cancelled', { taskId });
-}
-
-export async function handlePauseTask(
-  content: Record<string, unknown>,
-  _session: Session,
-  inDb: Database.Database,
-): Promise<void> {
-  const taskId = content.taskId as string;
-  pauseTask(inDb, taskId);
-  log.info('Task paused', { taskId });
-}
-
-export async function handleResumeTask(
-  content: Record<string, unknown>,
-  _session: Session,
-  inDb: Database.Database,
-): Promise<void> {
-  const taskId = content.taskId as string;
-  resumeTask(inDb, taskId);
-  log.info('Task resumed', { taskId });
-}
-
-export async function handleUpdateTask(
-  content: Record<string, unknown>,
-  session: Session,
-  inDb: Database.Database,
-): Promise<void> {
-  const taskId = content.taskId as string;
-  const update: TaskUpdate = {};
-  if (typeof content.prompt === 'string') update.prompt = content.prompt;
-  if (typeof content.processAfter === 'string') update.processAfter = content.processAfter;
-  if (content.recurrence === null || typeof content.recurrence === 'string') {
-    update.recurrence = content.recurrence as string | null;
-  }
-  if (content.script === null || typeof content.script === 'string') {
-    update.script = content.script as string | null;
-  }
-  const touched = updateTask(inDb, taskId, update);
-  log.info('Task updated', { taskId, touched, fields: Object.keys(update) });
-  if (touched === 0) {
-    // Notify the agent that update_task matched nothing. Replicates the
-    // old notifyAgent helper that used to live in delivery.ts — inlined
-    // here so scheduling doesn't depend on delivery's private helpers.
-    writeSessionMessage(session.agent_group_id, session.id, {
-      id: `sys-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`,
-      kind: 'chat',
-      timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
-      platformId: session.agent_group_id,
-      channelType: 'agent',
-      threadId: null,
-      content: JSON.stringify({
-        text: `update_task: no live task matched id "${taskId}".`,
-        sender: 'system',
-        senderId: 'system',
-      }),
-    });
-    const fresh = getSession(session.id);
-    if (fresh) {
-      wakeContainer(fresh).catch((err) =>
-        log.error('Failed to wake container after update_task notification', { err }),
-      );
-    }
-  }
-}

src/modules/scheduling/db.test.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { describe, it, expect, afterEach } from 'vitest';
 
 import { ensureSchema, openInboundDb } from '../../db/session-db.js';
 import {
-  insertTask,
+  insertTaskRow,
   insertRecurrence,
   cancelTask,
   pauseTask,
@@ -31,13 +31,11 @@ function freshDb() {
 }
 
 function insertBasicTask(db: ReturnType<typeof openInboundDb>, id: string, recurrence: string | null) {
-  insertTask(db, {
+  insertTaskRow(db, {
     id,
+    seriesId: id,
     processAfter: new Date().toISOString(),
     recurrence,
-    platformId: null,
-    channelType: null,
-    threadId: null,
     content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'noop' }),
   });
 }
@@ -46,7 +44,7 @@ afterEach(() => {
   if (fs.existsSync(TEST_DIR)) fs.rmSync(TEST_DIR, { recursive: true });
 });
 
-describe('insertTask', () => {
+describe('insertTaskRow', () => {
   it('stamps series_id = id on insert', () => {
     const db = freshDb();
     insertBasicTask(db, 'task-1', null);
@@ -68,13 +66,8 @@ describe('cancelTask / pauseTask / resumeTask series matching', () => {
 
     const msg: RecurringMessage = {
       id: 'task-orig',
-      kind: 'task',
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'noop' }),
       recurrence: '0 9 * * *',
-      process_after: null,
-      platform_id: null,
-      channel_type: null,
-      thread_id: null,
       series_id: 'task-orig',
     };
     insertRecurrence(db, msg, 'task-next', new Date(Date.now() + 86400000).toISOString());
@@ -93,7 +86,8 @@ describe('cancelTask / pauseTask / resumeTask series matching', () => {
       status: string;
       recurrence: string | null;
     };
-    expect(followUp.status).toBe('completed');
+    // Cancel marks 'cancelled' (not 'completed') so it never counts as a run.
+    expect(followUp.status).toBe('cancelled');
     // Recurrence cleared so the sweep doesn't spawn another clone.
     expect(followUp.recurrence).toBeNull();
     db.close();
@@ -131,18 +125,37 @@ describe('cancelTask / pauseTask / resumeTask series matching', () => {
     expect(followUp.status).toBe('pending');
     db.close();
   });
+
+  it('pause/resume touch ONLY status — recurrence and process_after survive the cycle', () => {
+    const db = freshDb();
+    seedRecurringChain(db);
+    const before = db.prepare("SELECT recurrence, process_after FROM messages_in WHERE id = 'task-next'").get() as {
+      recurrence: string | null;
+      process_after: string | null;
+    };
+
+    pauseTask(db, 'task-next');
+    resumeTask(db, 'task-next');
+
+    const after = db.prepare("SELECT recurrence, process_after FROM messages_in WHERE id = 'task-next'").get() as {
+      recurrence: string | null;
+      process_after: string | null;
+    };
+    // A cancel-style copy-paste (clearing recurrence) would kill the series here.
+    expect(after.recurrence).toBe(before.recurrence);
+    expect(after.process_after).toBe(before.process_after);
+    db.close();
+  });
 });
 
 describe('updateTask', () => {
   it('merges supplied fields into content JSON without clobbering others', () => {
     const db = freshDb();
-    insertTask(db, {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
       id: 'task-1',
+      seriesId: 'task-1',
       processAfter: new Date().toISOString(),
       recurrence: null,
-      platformId: null,
-      channelType: null,
-      threadId: null,
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'old', script: 'echo old', extra: 'keep me' }),
     });
 
@@ -158,13 +171,11 @@ describe('updateTask', () => {
 
   it('updates recurrence and process_after when supplied', () => {
     const db = freshDb();
-    insertTask(db, {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
       id: 'task-1',
+      seriesId: 'task-1',
       processAfter: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z',
       recurrence: '0 9 * * *',
-      platformId: null,
-      channelType: null,
-      threadId: null,
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'p' }),
     });
 
@@ -180,13 +191,11 @@ describe('updateTask', () => {
 
   it('clears recurrence when null is passed', () => {
     const db = freshDb();
-    insertTask(db, {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
       id: 'task-1',
+      seriesId: 'task-1',
       processAfter: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z',
       recurrence: '0 9 * * *',
-      platformId: null,
-      channelType: null,
-      threadId: null,
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'p' }),
     });
 
@@ -200,26 +209,19 @@ describe('updateTask', () => {
 
   it('reaches the live follow-up via series_id when called with the original id', () => {
     const db = freshDb();
-    insertTask(db, {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
       id: 'task-orig',
+      seriesId: 'task-orig',
       processAfter: new Date().toISOString(),
       recurrence: '0 9 * * *',
-      platformId: null,
-      channelType: null,
-      threadId: null,
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'old' }),
     });
     db.prepare("UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'completed' WHERE id = 'task-orig'").run();
 
     const msg: RecurringMessage = {
       id: 'task-orig',
-      kind: 'task',
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'old' }),
       recurrence: '0 9 * * *',
-      process_after: null,
-      platform_id: null,
-      channel_type: null,
-      thread_id: null,
       series_id: 'task-orig',
     };
     insertRecurrence(db, msg, 'task-next', new Date(Date.now() + 86400000).toISOString());
@@ -238,13 +240,11 @@ describe('updateTask', () => {
 
   it('returns 0 when no live task matches', () => {
     const db = freshDb();
-    insertTask(db, {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
       id: 'task-1',
+      seriesId: 'task-1',
       processAfter: new Date().toISOString(),
       recurrence: null,
-      platformId: null,
-      channelType: null,
-      threadId: null,
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'p' }),
     });
     db.prepare("UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'completed' WHERE id = 'task-1'").run();
@@ -262,13 +262,8 @@ describe('insertRecurrence', () => {
 
     const msg: RecurringMessage = {
       id: 'task-orig',
-      kind: 'task',
       content: '{}',
       recurrence: '0 9 * * *',
-      process_after: null,
-      platform_id: null,
-      channel_type: null,
-      thread_id: null,
       series_id: 'task-orig',
     };
     insertRecurrence(db, msg, 'task-next', new Date().toISOString());

src/modules/scheduling/db.ts

@@ -14,43 +14,71 @@ import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
 
 import { nextEvenSeq } from '../../db/session-db.js';
 
-export function insertTask(
+/**
+ * Insert one pending task occurrence. `seriesId` is the series join key — equal
+ * to `id` for a brand-new series, or the existing series for a recurrence clone
+ * or an on-demand run. Tasks never set platform/channel/thread (they fire into
+ * an isolated system session), so those columns are always NULL.
+ */
+export function insertTaskRow(
   db: Database.Database,
-  task: {
+  row: {
     id: string;
-    processAfter: string;
+    seriesId: string;
+    processAfter: string | null;
     recurrence: string | null;
-    platformId: string | null;
-    channelType: string | null;
-    threadId: string | null;
     content: string;
+    status?: 'pending' | 'paused';
   },
 ): void {
   db.prepare(
     `INSERT INTO messages_in (id, seq, timestamp, status, tries, process_after, recurrence, kind, platform_id, channel_type, thread_id, content, series_id)
-     VALUES (@id, @seq, datetime('now'), 'pending', 0, @processAfter, @recurrence, 'task', @platformId, @channelType, @threadId, @content, @id)`,
+     VALUES (@id, @seq, datetime('now'), @status, 0, @processAfter, @recurrence, 'task', NULL, NULL, NULL, @content, @seriesId)`,
   ).run({
-    ...task,
+    status: 'pending',
+    ...row,
     seq: nextEvenSeq(db),
   });
 }
 
-export function cancelTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string): void {
-  db.prepare(
-    "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'completed', recurrence = NULL WHERE (id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind = 'task' AND status IN ('pending', 'paused')",
-  ).run(taskId, taskId);
+// Cancel marks the live row 'cancelled' (not 'completed') so a never-fired
+// occurrence is distinguishable from a real run and never inflates run history;
+// recurrence is cleared so the series isn't re-armed by handleRecurrence.
+export function cancelTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string): number {
+  return db
+    .prepare(
+      "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'cancelled', recurrence = NULL WHERE (id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind = 'task' AND status IN ('pending', 'paused')",
+    )
+    .run(taskId, taskId).changes;
 }
 
-export function pauseTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string): void {
-  db.prepare(
-    "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'paused' WHERE (id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind = 'task' AND status = 'pending'",
-  ).run(taskId, taskId);
+export function cancelAllTasks(db: Database.Database): number {
+  return db
+    .prepare(
+      "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'cancelled', recurrence = NULL WHERE kind = 'task' AND status IN ('pending', 'paused')",
+    )
+    .run().changes;
 }
 
-export function resumeTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string): void {
-  db.prepare(
-    "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'pending' WHERE (id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind = 'task' AND status = 'paused'",
-  ).run(taskId, taskId);
+export function pauseTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string): number {
+  return db
+    .prepare(
+      "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'paused' WHERE (id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind = 'task' AND status = 'pending'",
+    )
+    .run(taskId, taskId).changes;
+}
+
+export function resumeTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string): number {
+  return db
+    .prepare(
+      "UPDATE messages_in SET status = 'pending' WHERE (id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind = 'task' AND status = 'paused'",
+    )
+    .run(taskId, taskId).changes;
+}
+
+export function deleteTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string): number {
+  return db.prepare("DELETE FROM messages_in WHERE (id = ? OR series_id = ?) AND kind = 'task'").run(taskId, taskId)
+    .changes;
 }
 
 export interface TaskUpdate {
@@ -107,45 +135,64 @@ export function updateTask(db: Database.Database, taskId: string, update: TaskUp
   return rows.length;
 }
 
+// Only tasks carry a recurrence (non-task writeSessionMessage never sets one),
+// so getCompletedRecurring only ever returns task rows — the fields below are
+// all that handleRecurrence needs to clone the next occurrence.
 export interface RecurringMessage {
   id: string;
-  kind: string;
   content: string;
   recurrence: string;
-  process_after: string | null;
-  platform_id: string | null;
-  channel_type: string | null;
-  thread_id: string | null;
   series_id: string;
 }
 
+// Failed occurrences (script-skip:error runs) re-arm too — a broken monitor
+// must keep its series alive so backoff can throttle it and the cap can pause
+// it; dropping the row would silently kill the series on first script error.
 export function getCompletedRecurring(db: Database.Database): RecurringMessage[] {
   return db
-    .prepare("SELECT * FROM messages_in WHERE status = 'completed' AND recurrence IS NOT NULL")
+    .prepare("SELECT * FROM messages_in WHERE status IN ('completed', 'failed') AND recurrence IS NOT NULL")
     .all() as RecurringMessage[];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Trailing consecutive FAILED occurrences of a series, newest backwards until
+ * the first completed run. This IS the script-failure streak — derived from
+ * the occurrence history, no stored counter to update or reset. Deliberately
+ * counts ANY failed occurrence (script-skip:error acks AND stuck-message
+ * failures from host-sweep's MAX_TRIES path): a series failing for either
+ * reason should throttle, not spin.
+ */
+export function trailingFailedRuns(db: Database.Database, seriesKey: string): number {
+  const rows = db
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT status FROM messages_in
+        WHERE (series_id = ? OR id = ?) AND kind = 'task' AND status IN ('completed', 'failed')
+        ORDER BY seq DESC`,
+    )
+    .all(seriesKey, seriesKey) as Array<{ status: string }>;
+  let streak = 0;
+  for (const r of rows) {
+    if (r.status !== 'failed') break;
+    streak++;
+  }
+  return streak;
+}
+
 export function insertRecurrence(
   db: Database.Database,
   msg: RecurringMessage,
   newId: string,
   nextRun: string | null,
+  status: 'pending' | 'paused' = 'pending',
 ): void {
-  db.prepare(
-    `INSERT INTO messages_in (id, seq, kind, timestamp, status, process_after, recurrence, platform_id, channel_type, thread_id, content, series_id)
-     VALUES (?, ?, ?, datetime('now'), 'pending', ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)`,
-  ).run(
-    newId,
-    nextEvenSeq(db),
-    msg.kind,
-    nextRun,
-    msg.recurrence,
-    msg.platform_id,
-    msg.channel_type,
-    msg.thread_id,
-    msg.content,
-    msg.series_id,
-  );
+  insertTaskRow(db, {
+    id: newId,
+    seriesId: msg.series_id,
+    processAfter: nextRun,
+    recurrence: msg.recurrence,
+    content: msg.content,
+    status,
+  });
 }
 
 export function clearRecurrence(db: Database.Database, messageId: string): void {

src/modules/scheduling/index.ts

@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Scheduling module — one-shot and recurring tasks.
- *
- * Registers:
- *   - Five delivery action handlers: schedule_task, cancel_task, pause_task,
- *     resume_task, update_task. The container's scheduling MCP tools
- *     (container/agent-runner/src/mcp-tools/scheduling.ts) write system
- *     messages with these actions; the host applies them to inbound.db.
- *
- * Host integration points (filled by MODULE-HOOK markers, validated here
- * with the scheduling module shipping inline):
- *   - `src/host-sweep.ts` → MODULE-HOOK:scheduling-recurrence calls
- *     `handleRecurrence` each sweep tick.
- *   - `container/agent-runner/src/poll-loop.ts` → MODULE-HOOK:scheduling-pre-task
- *     runs `applyPreTaskScripts` before the provider call so tasks carrying
- *     a pre-agent script can gate their own execution.
- *
- * No DB migration — tasks are `messages_in` rows with `kind='task'`, so the
- * module piggybacks on the core schema.
- */
-import { registerDeliveryAction } from '../../delivery.js';
-import {
-  handleCancelTask,
-  handlePauseTask,
-  handleResumeTask,
-  handleScheduleTask,
-  handleUpdateTask,
-} from './actions.js';
-
-registerDeliveryAction('schedule_task', handleScheduleTask);
-registerDeliveryAction('cancel_task', handleCancelTask);
-registerDeliveryAction('pause_task', handlePauseTask);
-registerDeliveryAction('resume_task', handleResumeTask);
-registerDeliveryAction('update_task', handleUpdateTask);

src/modules/scheduling/recurrence.test.ts

@@ -8,13 +8,20 @@
  */
 import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
-import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 
 import { ensureSchema, openInboundDb } from '../../db/session-db.js';
-import { insertTask } from './db.js';
-import { handleRecurrence } from './recurrence.js';
+import { insertTaskRow } from './db.js';
+import { handleRecurrence, scriptBackoffMinutes } from './recurrence.js';
 import type { Session } from '../../types.js';
 
+// Pin a non-UTC zone so the tz-interpretation test is exact even on UTC CI.
+// Asia/Tokyo is UTC+9 with no DST: "0 9 * * *" must land at 00:00:00Z sharp.
+vi.mock('../../config.js', async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import('../../config.js')>();
+  return { ...actual, TIMEZONE: 'Asia/Tokyo' };
+});
+
 const TEST_DIR = '/tmp/nanoclaw-recurrence-test';
 const DB_PATH = path.join(TEST_DIR, 'inbound.db');
 
@@ -45,13 +52,11 @@ afterEach(() => {
 describe('handleRecurrence', () => {
   it('clones a completed recurring task with a next-run in the future', async () => {
     const db = freshDb();
-    insertTask(db, {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
       id: 'task-1',
+      seriesId: 'task-1',
       processAfter: '2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z',
       recurrence: '0 9 * * *', // every day at 09:00 (user TZ)
-      platformId: null,
-      channelType: null,
-      threadId: null,
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'daily digest' }),
     });
     db.prepare(`UPDATE messages_in SET status='completed' WHERE id='task-1'`).run();
@@ -77,15 +82,34 @@ describe('handleRecurrence', () => {
     expect(new Date(follow.process_after).getTime()).toBeGreaterThan(Date.now());
   });
 
+  it('interprets the cron expression in TIMEZONE, not UTC (the v1 regression)', async () => {
+    const db = freshDb();
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
+      id: 'task-tz',
+      seriesId: 'task-tz',
+      processAfter: '2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z',
+      recurrence: '0 9 * * *', // 09:00 Asia/Tokyo === 00:00 UTC, exactly
+      content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'daily digest' }),
+    });
+    db.prepare(`UPDATE messages_in SET status='completed' WHERE id='task-tz'`).run();
+
+    await handleRecurrence(db, fakeSession());
+
+    const follow = db.prepare(`SELECT process_after FROM messages_in WHERE id != 'task-tz'`).get() as {
+      process_after: string;
+    };
+    // Drop the `{ tz: TIMEZONE }` option in recurrence.ts and this reads
+    // T09:00:00 (09:00 UTC) instead — red, even on a UTC CI runner.
+    expect(follow.process_after).toMatch(/T00:00:00/);
+  });
+
   it('does not clone rows whose recurrence is already cleared', async () => {
     const db = freshDb();
-    insertTask(db, {
+    insertTaskRow(db, {
       id: 'task-1',
+      seriesId: 'task-1',
       processAfter: '2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z',
       recurrence: null,
-      platformId: null,
-      channelType: null,
-      threadId: null,
       content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'one-off' }),
     });
     db.prepare(`UPDATE messages_in SET status='completed' WHERE id='task-1'`).run();
@@ -96,3 +120,74 @@ describe('handleRecurrence', () => {
     expect(count).toBe(1);
   });
 });
+
+describe('handleRecurrence — script-failure backoff (streak derived from failed runs)', () => {
+  // A series whose last `fails` occurrences all landed as FAILED (script-skip:error
+  // runs, as synced by syncProcessingAcks). Only the newest row keeps recurrence —
+  // older occurrences had theirs cleared when they were re-armed. fails=0 seeds one
+  // healthy completed run.
+  function seedFailedStreak(db: ReturnType<typeof freshDb>, fails: number) {
+    const rows = Math.max(fails, 1);
+    for (let i = 0; i < rows; i++) {
+      insertTaskRow(db, {
+        id: `task-s-${i}`,
+        seriesId: 'task-s-0',
+        processAfter: '2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z',
+        recurrence: i === rows - 1 ? '* * * * *' : null, // every minute — raw cron next is ~+1min
+        content: JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'monitor', script: 'exit 1' }),
+      });
+      db.prepare(`UPDATE messages_in SET status = ? WHERE id = ?`).run(
+        fails === 0 ? 'completed' : 'failed',
+        `task-s-${i}`,
+      );
+    }
+    return `task-s-${rows - 1}`; // the row carrying recurrence
+  }
+
+  const clone = (db: ReturnType<typeof freshDb>) =>
+    db.prepare(`SELECT status, process_after, recurrence FROM messages_in WHERE id NOT LIKE 'task-s-%'`).get() as {
+      status: string;
+      process_after: string;
+      recurrence: string | null;
+    };
+
+  it('exports the documented 2,4,8,…,60 progression', () => {
+    expect([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].map(scriptBackoffMinutes)).toEqual([2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 60, 60]);
+  });
+
+  it('pushes the clone past raw cron cadence while the script is failing', async () => {
+    const db = freshDb();
+    seedFailedStreak(db, 3); // streak 3 → backoff 8 min; cron next ≈ +1 min
+    await handleRecurrence(db, fakeSession());
+
+    const next = clone(db);
+    expect(next.status).toBe('pending');
+    const deltaMin = (new Date(next.process_after).getTime() - Date.now()) / 60_000;
+    expect(deltaMin).toBeGreaterThan(7); // backoff won over the 1-min cron grid
+  });
+
+  it('a healthy series (trailing run completed) re-arms on the raw cron grid', async () => {
+    const db = freshDb();
+    seedFailedStreak(db, 0);
+    await handleRecurrence(db, fakeSession());
+
+    const next = clone(db);
+    expect(next.status).toBe('pending');
+    const deltaMin = (new Date(next.process_after).getTime() - Date.now()) / 60_000;
+    expect(deltaMin).toBeLessThan(2); // no backoff applied
+  });
+
+  it('auto-pauses the series at the cap instead of re-arming', async () => {
+    const db = freshDb();
+    const liveId = seedFailedStreak(db, 8);
+    await handleRecurrence(db, fakeSession());
+
+    const next = clone(db);
+    expect(next.status).toBe('paused'); // `ncl tasks resume` revives in place
+    expect(next.recurrence).toBe('* * * * *');
+    const original = db.prepare(`SELECT recurrence FROM messages_in WHERE id = ?`).get(liveId) as {
+      recurrence: string | null;
+    };
+    expect(original.recurrence).toBeNull(); // not re-cloned next sweep
+  });
+});

src/modules/scheduling/recurrence.ts

@@ -11,27 +11,79 @@
  * direct dynamic import. When scheduling moves to the modules branch in
  * PR #8, the install skill re-fills the marker on install.
  */
-import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
 
-import { TIMEZONE } from '../../config.js';
+import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
+import { CronExpressionParser } from 'cron-parser';
+
+import { GROUPS_DIR, TIMEZONE } from '../../config.js';
+import { getAgentGroup } from '../../db/agent-groups.js';
 import { log } from '../../log.js';
 import type { Session } from '../../types.js';
-import { clearRecurrence, getCompletedRecurring, insertRecurrence } from './db.js';
+import { clearRecurrence, getCompletedRecurring, insertRecurrence, trailingFailedRuns } from './db.js';
+
+// Consecutive pre-task-script failures (the series' trailing FAILED runs —
+// derived from occurrence rows, no stored counter) throttle a broken monitor
+// script instead of letting it wake a container at raw cron cadence forever.
+// A deliberate wakeAgent=false gate is a normal completed run and never backs
+// off. Mirrors the stuck-message retry in host-sweep.ts (BACKOFF_BASE_MS
+// doubling, MAX_TRIES → failed): fail loud, don't spin.
+const SCRIPT_FAIL_PAUSE_CAP = 8;
+const SCRIPT_BACKOFF_CAP_MIN = 60;
+
+/** 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 60, 60… minutes for fails = 1, 2, 3… */
+export function scriptBackoffMinutes(fails: number): number {
+  return Math.min(2 * 2 ** (fails - 1), SCRIPT_BACKOFF_CAP_MIN);
+}
+
+/** Host-written line in the series run log — no agent session exists to call
+ *  append-log when a script-gated series is auto-paused. Same format as
+ *  appendTaskLog (tasks.ts). */
+function appendHostTaskNote(agentGroupId: string, seriesId: string, note: string): void {
+  const ag = getAgentGroup(agentGroupId);
+  if (!ag) return;
+  const dir = path.join(GROUPS_DIR, ag.folder, 'tasks');
+  const timestamp = new Date().toISOString().replace(/\.\d{3}Z$/, 'Z');
+  fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  fs.appendFileSync(path.join(dir, `${seriesId}.md`), `${timestamp} — ${note}\n`);
+}
 
 export async function handleRecurrence(inDb: Database.Database, session: Session): Promise<void> {
   const recurring = getCompletedRecurring(inDb);
 
   for (const msg of recurring) {
     try {
-      const { CronExpressionParser } = await import('cron-parser');
       // Interpret the cron expression in the user's timezone. v1 did this
       // (src/v1/task-scheduler.ts:20-49); without it, a task written "0 9 * * *"
       // by an agent running in a user's local TZ fires at 09:00 UTC instead of
       // 09:00 user-local.
       const interval = CronExpressionParser.parse(msg.recurrence, { tz: TIMEZONE });
-      const nextRun = interval.next().toISOString();
-      const prefix = msg.kind === 'task' ? 'task' : 'msg';
-      const newId = `${prefix}-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`;
+      const cronNext = interval.next().toDate();
+      const newId = `task-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`;
+
+      const scriptFails = trailingFailedRuns(inDb, msg.series_id ?? msg.id);
+
+      if (scriptFails >= SCRIPT_FAIL_PAUSE_CAP) {
+        // Re-arm PAUSED at the cron time so `ncl tasks resume` revives the
+        // series in place; leave the why in the run log.
+        insertRecurrence(inDb, msg, newId, cronNext.toISOString(), 'paused');
+        clearRecurrence(inDb, msg.id);
+        appendHostTaskNote(
+          session.agent_group_id,
+          msg.series_id,
+          `auto-paused after ${scriptFails} consecutive script failures (host); fix the script, then \`ncl tasks resume ${msg.series_id}\``,
+        );
+        log.warn('Task series auto-paused: script keeps failing', {
+          seriesId: msg.series_id,
+          scriptFails,
+          sessionId: session.id,
+        });
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      const backoffAt = scriptFails > 0 ? Date.now() + scriptBackoffMinutes(scriptFails) * 60_000 : 0;
+      const nextRun = new Date(Math.max(cronNext.getTime(), backoffAt)).toISOString();
 
       insertRecurrence(inDb, msg, newId, nextRun);
       clearRecurrence(inDb, msg.id);
@@ -41,6 +93,7 @@ export async function handleRecurrence(inDb: Database.Database, session: Session
         newId,
         seriesId: msg.series_id,
         nextRun,
+        ...(scriptFails > 0 && { scriptFails, backoffMin: scriptBackoffMinutes(scriptFails) }),
         sessionId: session.id,
       });
     } catch (err) {

src/session-manager.ts

@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@ import { ensureContainedInboxDir, isPathInside } from './inbox-safety.js';
 import { getMessagingGroup } from './db/messaging-groups.js';
 import {
   createSession,
+  findSystemSession,
   findSessionByAgentGroup,
   findSessionForAgent,
   getSession,
+  taskThreadId,
   updateSession,
 } from './db/sessions.js';
 import {
@@ -120,6 +122,33 @@ export function resolveSession(
   return { session, created: true };
 }
 
+/** Find or create the per-agent-group session used for scheduled tasks. */
+/** Find or create the isolated session for one task series (thread `system:tasks:<seriesId>`). */
+export function resolveTaskSession(agentGroupId: string, seriesId: string): { session: Session; created: boolean } {
+  const threadId = taskThreadId(seriesId);
+  const existing = findSystemSession(agentGroupId, threadId);
+  if (existing) return { session: existing, created: false };
+
+  const id = generateId();
+  const session: Session = {
+    id,
+    agent_group_id: agentGroupId,
+    messaging_group_id: null,
+    thread_id: threadId,
+    agent_provider: null,
+    status: 'active',
+    container_status: 'stopped',
+    last_active: null,
+    created_at: new Date().toISOString(),
+  };
+
+  createSession(session);
+  initSessionFolder(agentGroupId, id);
+  log.info('Task session created', { id, agentGroupId, seriesId });
+
+  return { session, created: true };
+}
+
 /** Create the session folder and initialize both DBs. */
 export function initSessionFolder(agentGroupId: string, sessionId: string): void {
   const dir = sessionDir(agentGroupId, sessionId);
@@ -350,6 +379,16 @@ export function openInboundDb(agentGroupId: string, sessionId: string): Database
   return db;
 }
 
+/** Open a session's inbound DB, run `fn`, and always close it. */
+export function withInboundDb<T>(agentGroupId: string, sessionId: string, fn: (db: Database.Database) => T): T {
+  const db = openInboundDb(agentGroupId, sessionId);
+  try {
+    return fn(db);
+  } finally {
+    db.close();
+  }
+}
+
 /** Open the outbound DB for a session (host reads only). */
 export function openOutboundDb(agentGroupId: string, sessionId: string): Database.Database {
   return openOutboundDbRaw(outboundDbPath(agentGroupId, sessionId));

src/timezone.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
 
-import { formatLocalTime, isValidTimezone, resolveTimezone } from './timezone.js';
+import { formatLocalTime, isValidTimezone, parseZonedToUtc, resolveTimezone } from './timezone.js';
 
 // --- formatLocalTime ---
 
@@ -62,3 +62,30 @@ describe('resolveTimezone', () => {
     expect(resolveTimezone('')).toBe('UTC');
   });
 });
+
+describe('parseZonedToUtc', () => {
+  const iso = (s: string, tz: string): string => parseZonedToUtc(s, tz).toISOString();
+
+  it('reads a naive timestamp as wall-clock in a fixed-offset zone', () => {
+    expect(iso('2026-06-20T09:00:00', 'Asia/Tokyo')).toBe('2026-06-20T00:00:00.000Z'); // UTC+9
+  });
+
+  it('applies the correct seasonal offset (DST honored)', () => {
+    // Same wall-clock time, different UTC offset by season — proves the offset
+    // is computed against the zone's rules, not a fixed guess.
+    expect(iso('2026-07-01T12:00:00', 'America/New_York')).toBe('2026-07-01T16:00:00.000Z'); // EDT -4
+    expect(iso('2026-01-01T12:00:00', 'America/New_York')).toBe('2026-01-01T17:00:00.000Z'); // EST -5
+  });
+
+  it('passes a trailing-Z timestamp through unchanged', () => {
+    expect(iso('2026-06-20T09:00:00Z', 'Asia/Tokyo')).toBe('2026-06-20T09:00:00.000Z');
+  });
+
+  it('passes an explicit offset through', () => {
+    expect(iso('2026-06-20T09:00:00+02:00', 'Asia/Tokyo')).toBe('2026-06-20T07:00:00.000Z');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to UTC for an invalid zone', () => {
+    expect(iso('2026-06-20T09:00:00', 'Not/AZone')).toBe('2026-06-20T09:00:00.000Z');
+  });
+});

src/timezone.ts

@@ -35,3 +35,45 @@ export function formatLocalTime(utcIso: string, timezone: string): string {
     hour12: true,
   });
 }
+
+/**
+ * Interpret a naive ISO-like timestamp (no trailing `Z`, no offset) as wall-clock
+ * time in `tz` and return the corresponding UTC Date. Strings that already carry
+ * offset info (`Z` or `+-HH:MM`) are passed through to the Date constructor.
+ */
+export function parseZonedToUtc(input: string, tz: string): Date {
+  const hasOffset = /Z$|[+-]\d{2}:?\d{2}$/.test(input.trim());
+  if (hasOffset) return new Date(input);
+
+  const zone = resolveTimezone(tz);
+  const asIfUtc = new Date(input + 'Z');
+  if (Number.isNaN(asIfUtc.getTime())) return asIfUtc;
+
+  const fmt = new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
+    timeZone: zone,
+    year: 'numeric',
+    month: '2-digit',
+    day: '2-digit',
+    hour: '2-digit',
+    minute: '2-digit',
+    second: '2-digit',
+    hour12: false,
+  });
+  const parts = Object.fromEntries(
+    fmt
+      .formatToParts(asIfUtc)
+      .filter((p) => p.type !== 'literal')
+      .map((p) => [p.type, p.value]),
+  );
+  const hour = parts.hour === '24' ? '00' : parts.hour;
+  const zonedAsUtcMs = Date.UTC(
+    Number(parts.year),
+    Number(parts.month) - 1,
+    Number(parts.day),
+    Number(hour),
+    Number(parts.minute),
+    Number(parts.second),
+  );
+  const offsetMs = zonedAsUtcMs - asIfUtc.getTime();
+  return new Date(asIfUtc.getTime() - offsetMs);
+}

src/types.ts

@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ export interface Session {
 // ── Session DB entities ──
 
 export type MessageInKind = 'chat' | 'chat-sdk' | 'task' | 'webhook' | 'system';
-export type MessageInStatus = 'pending' | 'processing' | 'completed' | 'failed';
+export type MessageInStatus = 'pending' | 'processing' | 'completed' | 'failed' | 'cancelled';
 
 export interface MessageIn {
   id: string;